The Realm of Shadows
by giuocob
Summary: Sora has lost somebody very dear to him. But he keeps having inexplicable dreams about her...
1. Chapter 1

'A tunnel?' thought Sora uneasily. 'Where did this come from?'

Sora stood on a floor of hard stone, a ceiling of the same cold material looming twenty feet above his head. An ocean of impermeable darkness stretched in every direction, yet he could somehow clearly discern everything around him. Although he could not seem to remember how long he had been in this foreboding cavern, he felt he had been wandering aimlessly there for a very, very long time.

Now Sora's path was impeded by a wall. It rose up in front of him and greeted the ceiling, stretching to his left and right as far as his eyes could see. But a small tunnel was cut into the edifice, just large enough for him to walk through without hitting his head on its roof. This passage was even blacker than the rest of the cavern, but he walked quickly into it without a moment's hesitation. He felt a strange pull in his chest, almost as though a palpable force was dragging him deeper into the depths of the tunnel.

As he walked, he encountered clouds of black mist that hissed and swirled around his head like angry birds, as if they were alive. But none of these ominous creatures attempted to come anywhere near him, and Sora felt that they held no threat toward him.

After several monotonous minutes, Sora saw another figure sitting on the cold floor – a female figure. The floating shadows seemed to make a special effort of avoiding her. Her back was turned to Sora, but he recognized her red hair at a glimpse. "Kairi!" he called happily. "What are you doing here?"

Sora saw Kairi's body suddenly stiffen. Confused, he addressed her again. "Are you alright, Kairi? You look tense!"

Without turning around, Kairi wordlessly jumped to her feet and ran further down the dark tunnel, her feet barely making a sound. Sora gave a cry of shock and dashed after her, but he could not match her incredible speed. "Kairi, Kairi!" he cried. For some reason he could not fathom, hot tears welled up in his blue eyes and dripped down his face, flying through the dark air behind him as he sprinted after his friend. "Why are you running from me? Come back, Kairi! Come back!"

"Sora!" shouted a new voice sharply. It came from nowhere and filled the dark space all around him. "Are you alright? Wake up!"


	2. Chapter 2

Sora's eyes flew wide open, and he sat up sharply in his bed with a soft cry. His face was streaked with half dried tears. 'Why did she run from me like that?' he thought wildly, his mind a hazy blur. 'That couldn't have been her! It just couldn't!"

Sora suddenly noticed Riku was kneeling next to him, his features resonant with concern. He was fully clothed, as he always was when he slept. "You okay, Sora?" he asked.

"Uh…yeah," said Sora awkwardly, only half listening to him. His head was still swimming in drowsiness and confusion, and he was inwardly struggling to think clearly.

"Had that dream again, right?" said Riku kindly.

Sora's mental turmoil was abruptly shattered. 'It was another dream,' he thought with both relief and sorrow. He swallowed forcefully and nodded his head.

Riku sighed heavily. "Sora, I know you miss her," he said. His voice was sympathetic, but it contained a hint of irritation. "I miss her, too. But she's been gone for three months now, and you've had this dream about her four times. You've got to pull yourself together."

"I know," said Sora in a shaky voice. He understood the truth in his friend's words, and wanted to punch himself for letting himself dwell on thoughts about Kairi. "I've been trying to get over it, I really have! I just keep having these dreams about her. I wish I could stop having them, but I can't."

Riku sighed again. "I hope you can get rid of them soon. You've got to get back to your full fighting self again." A wide grin suddenly spread across his face. "I need someone to beat up on!"

Sora smiled wryly, and climbed out of bed. "What time is it?" he asked, still slightly groggy.

Riku opened the wooden door at the other end of the room. Bright sunlight streamed into the room, hurting Sora's tired eyes. "It's daylight already?" he said, surprised. "I feel like I just went to sleep! Well, time to get moving, Sora."

Sora climbed out of bed, also fully dressed, and walked the familiar route across to the door. But his mind wasn't on where he was going; he was again thinking about the absurd dream. He was so oblivious to his surroundings that he nearly walked straight into Riku, who had to jumped out of the way to avoid being knocked over. "Careful there, Sora! Where are you going?"

"I don't know," mumbled Sora. "I'll just wander around a bit, I guess."

"Well, okay," said Riku, warily observing his almost drunken gait. "Just try not to kill anything."

"I'll be careful," said Sora with a small chuckle. He ducked his head under the low arch of the door and walked into the beautiful courtyard of Disney Castle.

This had been his home for nearly three months, ever since the Heartless had returned to Destiny Islands. And in that period of time, what he had once thought of as merely a beautiful castle became a real home. The elegant, arching walls and pristine balconies encircling the courtyard became as familiar to him as the logs that comprised the clubhouse back on his island. The impeccably trimmed hedge structures in the garden were as wonderful as the lush tropical trees he had known throughout his life. And his friends, Donald and Goofy, were now as close to him as Riku.

Sora strolled aimlessly through the garden, admiring the hedges. The muddled questions surrounding his odd dreams were forgotten for the moment. It had been several weeks since he had last taken the time to enjoy this natural beauty.

Suddenly, he realized that his random walking had taken him to a very familiar corner of the courtyard. This small square of land was empty, except for a bench that Sora himself had set up months ago. When he had first arrived at Disney Castle, he had spent nearly all his time sitting on that bench with his head in his hands, but he rarely came more than once a day anymore.

In the midst of a dense patch of flowers, a stone rose out of the earth – a gravestone. It was not very large, or ornately carved or decorated; rather, it was nothing more than a large rock. Sora hadn't thought that she would want a large, fancy funeral ceremony or tombstone. He slowly walked across the lush grass and read the same message he had read hundreds of times:

_KAIRI_

_Her heart has left her body, but it has not been destroyed._


	3. Chapter 3

Sora stood on the soil that held the body of Kairi, staring wistfully at her gravestone. He read the inscription a second time and sighed. He did not cry. It had been a long time since he had shed tears. During the first weeks of his stay at Disney Castle, he had spent hours on end sitting on the bench, crying his eyes out like a baby. But Riku had eventually convinced him that he wasn't helping Kairi or himself by moping by her grave, and he needed to spend his time strengthening his heart so he could fight again. The only time he cried anymore was in his obscure dreams.

But that didn't mean he didn't miss her. It wasn't the normal type of longing, where one feels in aching hole in his chest. In fact, in Sora's heart, he felt that Kairi was with him right that moment. But he never stopped thinking about her, and if there was anything he could possibly do to bring her back, he would do it. His mind flew unbidden to his last memory of her: the night she died.

_It was six months after Xemnas had been defeated, and Sora, Riku, and Kairi were as happy as any three friends could be. Unfortunately, to their misery, all of their parents had disappeared. They later discovered that the adults had left Destiny Islands to live somewhere else, overcome with grief for their lost children._

_But in spite of this loss, they were happy. They decided to live in each other's company on their own island; their clubhouse became a home. Riku, who was seventeen, took it upon himself to provide for the three of them and became a fisherman. Although he didn't make much, it was more than enough to support his friends, as they found much of there food growing on trees right outside their house._

_One ordinary night, they were all in bed. Sora lay awake, thinking about Kairi's upcoming sixteenth birthday. He knew he needed to do something special and new for her, but he just couldn't come up with the right thing. His drowsy mind eventually overtook him, and he fell asleep, dreams of a giant surprise party dancing in his head._

_Suddenly, he was awakened by a sharp stabbing in his chest. He sat up like a shot, his eyes darting around the room confusedly, but the pain subsided as quickly as it had come, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But he detected a forbidding presence in the room that filled the air with an uncomfortable chill. Suddenly, he realized that Kairi's normal sleep breathing had ceased._

_He climbed out of his bed, weary yet alert, and walked across the room to Kairi. "You okay?" he whispered. She did not reply, but her normally relaxed body was as tense as a bowstring. Alarmed, Sora grabbed her outstretched hand, and recoiled. It was cold; as cold as ice._

Sora shuddered and turned his back on the peaceful gravestone. Unhappy memories like that filled him with newfound emotion and sometimes even brought him close to tears. He swallowed forcefully and walked back into the beautiful hedge garden.

All of a sudden, the air darkened all around him. Several black figures with pale yellow eyes materialized out of thin air and crowded around Sora menacingly. "Heartless!" he cried aloud. He instinctively stretched out his hand, groping for his keyblade, but it wouldn't come to him. Then he remembered: he hadn't had his keyblade since Kairi had died.

Sora immediately panicked. "Riku! Donald! Goofy! Somebody, there's Heartless in the courtyard!" He collected himself as best he could, and pulled a long, sturdy stick out of a nearby hedge. He grasped it as he was used to holding his keyblade, and charged into the Heartless blocking his path, swinging his weapon madly. He knocked his enemies into the air as he carved a path through them; they merely landed, shook themselves off, and continued to pursue him.

Sora threw the makeshift sword aside and ran blindly down the gravel covered path, not even sure where he was going. He could hear the abominable critters crawling and sliding along the ground, practically on his heels. He felt the familiar burning excitement of battle rising inside him. He dearly wanted to whip around, summon his keyblade, and smash the infernal Heartless into oblivion, but he couldn't.

"Sora!" A shrill, ducklike voice rang out from the balcony above him. He looked up, and there stood Donald, his staff outstretched. There was a crackle of thunder, and the Heartless, who were nearly on top of Sora, dissipated into clouds of black smoke.

"Donald!" shouted Sora, happy and relieved. "I thought I was a goner! Thanks!"

Goofy now appeared over the elegant white railing beside Donald. "Gawrsh, what happened, Sora?"

"I don't know," said Sora. "I was just walking down this path, and a group of Heartless just came out of nowhere."

"Gaw!" quacked Donald furiously. "Where are all these Heartless coming from? This is the fifth time they've showed up here!"

Goofy put his finger to his head, wearing an intent expression. "The Heartless don't just go places all by themselves," he said slowly. "I reckon somebody must be sending them after us."

"But who could that be?" asked Sora quizzically. "We've defeated Xehanort already. Wait…you think Maleficent might be out to get us?"

"Gawrsh, I don't think so," said Goofy. "She's got her castle now, remember? What else could she want from us?"

"Aw, this is useless," muttered Donald disgustedly. "Just be careful, Sora, and keep working on getting that keyblade back. I don't like having to watch out for you all the time."

That statement hurt Sora deeply, as though Donald had cursed him. 'He's right,' he thought miserably. 'I haven't done anything to help Donald and Goofy at all. I'm just a burden to them until I can get my keyblade back.' He sighed heavily and looked up at the balcony. "Don't worry, I'll be careful," he called, as cheerfully as he could. Then he turned on his heels and walked back toward his room.


	4. Chapter 4

Between the obscure dream and the mysterious attack of the Heartless, that had been the most eventful day Sora had witnessed since his arrival at Disney Castle. And after that brief rush of excitement, he turned back to his old, mundane routine.

Over the next month, he spent much of his time dueling Riku. They each had crafted wooden practice swords, and Riku insisted that Sora practice fighting constantly, so he would know how to wield his keyblade when it finally returned to him. Sora knew that these sessions would eventually help him immensely, but he didn't enjoy them. Riku was by far his superior, and these duels left Sora exhausted with painful bruises all over his body.

In addition, Riku liked to tutor him in the midst of the fighting, and he was a stubborn, unforgiving mentor. One time, he even went so far as to tell Sora to change his stance completely and brandish the sword over his shoulder. Sora obediently did so, and was quickly pummeled to the ground by Riku as he tried to cope with the severely limited scope of his weapon. 'How does Riku manage to fight like that?' he thought wryly as he dusted himself off.

But far worse than those practices were the lectures that Riku liked to give Sora as they walked together along the balconies or through the courtyard. "You know, the reason that you've lost your keyblade is because you won't stop dwelling on things that happened in the past," he would say gently. "You've got to let go of the things you've lost."

Sora's face grew red with fury; Riku was prodding him where it hurt the most. "Are you saying I need to completely forget about Kairi?" he asked angrily.

Riku hurriedly took a step backward. "I didn't say that!" he said hastily. But Sora knew it was what he meant. However, he was racked with remorse about confronting Riku like that. He knew that Riku was his dearest and closest friend, and he only wanted the best for his younger companion. But Sora simply could not bring himself to stop thinking about Kairi. Memories were all he had left of her, and even though they were weakening his heart and keeping his keyblade away, he would hold on to them as long as he could.

However, Sora and Riku, together with Donald, Goofy, and Mickey, often talked about other topics while they ate or ambled about the castle. Sora immensely enjoyed these conversations. They chatted amiably about many things, not least of all books. Everybody who lived at the castle made good use of the giant library that Minnie owned, and Sora soon became well versed in fiction, poetry, science, and a wealth of other topics.

One morning, after a delicious breakfast of eggs and toast, Sora was walking alone in the hedge garden, pondering the mystery novel he was currently reading. It had been over a month since the Heartless had attacked, and Sora had neither encountered Heartless nor dreamt about Kairi for over month.

Suddenly, a metallic click rang through the air. Sora stiffened, staring around himself warily for any sign of danger or the source of the noise. He thought he could discern a whirring noise emanating from the hangar, as though a ship were taking off. 'Mickey must be leaving!' he realized with a cold chill. 'Why didn't he tell anybody else? This must be something really urgent!'

He broke into a run across the grass, leaping over small hedges, dashing toward the hangar. Sora knew he could do nothing to help Mickey, but he still burned with an innate, insatiable curiosity. If somebody was leaving, he was going to know about it.

He reached the door, wildly flung it open, and was knocked to the ground by an extremely loud crash from within that shook the very floor under his feet. A wave of burning heat rushed from the open doorway and threw Sora to the ground again as he was getting up. "What was that?" he shouted aloud as he climbed to his feet again and rushed to the door.

The Gummi Ship was parked in its normal spot, untouched. But further down the hangar lay another ship in pieces. It was surrounded by a pile of debris, and smoke rose in a looming cloud from the interior.

Sora could not help but wonder where this ship came from or why it was at the castle, but he began to run down the stairs to help the unfortunate pilot, whoever he might be. Suddenly, he stopped, overcome by a chilly shroud of foreboding. A piece of twisted pipe had been flung onto the stairs from the wreckage, and he picked it up quickly, brandishing it before him. "Who's there?" he yelled, trying to sound menacing, but filled with anxiety.

A lone figure crawled out of the ship, coughing forcefully. He stood up, dusted himself off, and squinted up at Sora. "Can you help me out here?" he called.

Sora felt a surge of relief, but he realized the man was in dire need of help. "I'll get my friends and some water!" he shouted.

"No, never mind that, just help me get my equipment out of here!" said the man irritably. He rushed to the back of the burning vessel and ripped a door off its hinges in his haste. Flames immediately burst from the opening and scorched him. "Oh no, it's too late!" he cried in misery.

Sora could not fathom what was inside the ship that was more important than the ship itself. However, he still knew he could help out. He pointed the pipe at the flames, concentrated his mind, and shouted, "Blizzaga!" A scintillating sphere of ice shot from the makeshift weapon like a rocket and crashed into the roaring fire. Within seconds, the flames were completely quenched. Sora's magic hadn't disappeared with his keyblade.

The man stared at the smoldering remains of his ship for a long while, then turned back to Sora. "That was incredible!" he said, his face gleaming with awe. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sora." Now, Sora finally got a good look at the man he had just saved. He looked to be about thirty years old, with long grey hair, and a visage that reflected years of study and gathering knowledge. He wore a long white coat, tainted black with ash.

"I'm Ajedel. Nice to meet you, and thanks for saving me," he said gratefully. Then urgency abruptly spread over his face. "But my equipment! It must be completely destroyed!" He dove into the wreckage. Sora heard the sounds of a frantic search, accompanied by occasional cries of delight and exclamations of "well, what do you know!"

Ajedel eventually emerged from the broken doorway, carrying a bulging sack. "It's a miracle!" he cried happily. "Everything is undamaged. I thought I was going to have to start my work all over again!"

He now began to rummage through the sack, mumbling delightedly to himself. Sora simply stood on the stairway awkwardly. He wasn't sure whether he should try to talk to Ajedel, who seemed a bit erotic, or find somebody and tell them that a strange man had landed in the hangar. The question was answered for him, however, when Mickey, Riku, Donald, and Goofy ran through the door. "What happened?" said Mickey in alarm. "We heard a crash, and – oh my, what happened to that ship?"

"It's his," explained Sora, pointing to Ajedel. "I heard the crash and ran in here. His ship was on fire, and I put it out, but he hasn't said anything to me since."

Mickey looked at Ajedel and started. "Ajedel?" he cried, astounded. "Is that you?"

Ajedel finally looked up from his sack. "King Mickey!" he yelled in delight. "You have no idea how long I've been looking for you!"

"You two know each other?" said Riku, looking distastefully at Ajedel. He didn't seem to like him at all.

"Of course!" exclaimed Mickey. "He was a good friend of Ansem the Wise, and did a lot of research with him before Xehanort overthrew him. But Ajedel, what did you come here for?"

"I've been traveling around to all sorts of worlds, looking for those who knew Ansem," said Ajedel with a slight tinge of apprehension. "I remembered you, and set out to find your castle. But when I spotted it and prepared to land, I was attacked and forced to land in a rather unruly manner. Tell me, do you know what happened to Ansem? I fear the worst."

"Oh," said Mickey awkwardly. "Um…"

"He's dead," said Riku flatly. Donald glared at him angrily, tapping his foot.

Ajedel sighed. "It's just as I thought. I suppose I'm going to have to continue my research without him." He hoisted his heavy sack and walked up the stairs to where Mickey was standing. "My ship certainly isn't in flying order, and I don't have anywhere to go anyway. Do you mind if I stay here awhile while I fix the ship?"

"Definitely!" said Mickey. "You can stay here as long as you need to. I can find you place to sleep right now, if you like."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Ajedel, shedding his solemn mood as though it were a garment. He bounded down the stairs, grabbed his mysterious black bag, and ran up again. "I'm ready!" He and Mickey left the room, followed by Donald and Goofy.

Sora watched them go, then turned to Riku. "Why were you so rude to him?" he asked angrily. "He never did anything to you."

"You saw him as well as I did," said Riku, without even facing Sora. "He's crazy. He's just a mad scientist."

"How do you know?" challenged Sora. "Sure, maybe he's a bit erotic, but he worked with Ansem the Wise. I'm sure he knows something important that could be helpful to us. You can't judge him like that right now!"

Riku sighed. "I'll talk to you later," he said. Then he turned on his heels and walked quickly out of the hangar.

"Maybe he'll be able to tell us why the Heartless have been coming here!" Sora called after him. "Or maybe why Kairi…" He abruptly stopped himself, realizing he was tugging on his own heartstrings. Deep down inside, that was the single thing he needed to know the most: why did Kairi die? But thinking about her death always brought an emotional maelstrom over him, and he couldn't figure it out himself.

But maybe Ajedel could.


	5. Chapter 5

When Sora left the hangar, he immediately began hunting around the castle for Ajedel. He certainly wasn't going to interrogate him about Kairi's fate right after they met, but he still wanted he still wanted to have a friendly chat and learn more about his research. However, although he scrutinized the passages of the castle tirelessly for the entire remainder of the day, he did so in vain. Ajedel was nowhere to be found.

'That's odd', thought Sora. 'Where could Mickey have taken him?'

He awoke the next morning far ahead of his normal schedule, and resumed his search, but still in vain. Eventually, he came upon Mickey, pacing the halls with an urgent air. Something seemed to be troubling his mind.

"Excuse me, Mickey," he called, "do you know where Ajedel is? I haven't seen him since yesterday."

Mickey started. "What? Ajedel? Oh, he's in his room right now."

"I would like to talk to him," Sora persisted. "Can you tell me where his room is?"

Mickey's expression suddenly took on an air of mystery. "Ajedel is a hidden place," he murmured. His voice had darkened considerably. "He is researching something very dangerous. The knowledge he is accumulating could wreak terrible destruction on the world if it fell into the wrong hands. He has asked me not to tell anybody about his work."

"Alright, that's fine," said Sora, taken aback at this ominous revelation. He walked away quickly in deep thought. 'What could Ajedel be researching that's so dangerous? Could it have anything to do with Kairi?'

That evening, he related what he had heard to Riku. "He's doing something dangerous, then?" said Riku. "I'd suggest you stay far away from him."

Sora could not believe how rude Riku was being. "But Mickey trusts him completely!" he protested. "They've known each other for a long time. Just because he seems a little bit eccentric doesn't mean he's dangerous! You've got to lighten up on him, Riku."

Riku sighed heavily. "Alright," he conceded. "I'll try talking to him sometime. Assuming he ever comes out of his room."

Sora went to bed in triumphant satisfaction, but Riku's last statement had troubled him deeply. 'What if he never does come out? Then I'll never have a chance to talk with him! I just want to find out what happened to Kairi…' He dwelled on these worries well into the night, before eventually falling into a deep slumber.

He found himself standing on a stone floor, ending only in dark mist in every direction. Strange blobs of black smoke flew through the air around him, some floating aimlessly, some circling ferociously around his head. He felt he had been here before, though he could not remember when.

He began to walk through the stifling darkness. He wasn't sure where he was going, but some strange force seemed to be pulling him in a straight line. As he went, there were more and more of the shapeless, smoky creatures clogging the air, until he could barely see through them. Sometimes, he even needed to swing his arm at those directly in his path. They hissed, quickly flew out of his way, and continued to hover menacingly.

Eventually, he discerned an eerie red light off in the distance. He could barely see it because of the ever increasing density of the creatures, but it slowly became clearer and brighter.

Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet dropped off sharply. He stumbled and regained his composure just in time to avoid falling over. He looked down, and sucked in his breath sharply, realizing how lucky he had been.

Sora was standing on the edge of a very large hole cut in the stone floor. The dark creatures would not, or could not, fly over or through the vast opening. And down through it, far below the ground he was standing on, there was an ocean of lava. The hot red liquid bubbled merrily like water in a witch's pot, sending a burning heat through the hole that scorched Sora's face, causing him to step backward quickly.

But the force that had been calling him now pulled strongly from the left. He spun around and saw a young girl with beautiful red hair standing among the smoky darkness, her back turned to him. "Kairi!" he called. "What are you doing here? What is this place?"

Kairi whipped around, keeping her head bowed to the ground so Sora could not see her face. "Shh!" she said in a hushed voice. "Do you want to wake up Riku?"

"Wake up Riku? What do you mean?" asked Sora confusedly. But then it dawned on him. 'I'm just in the middle of a dream,' he realized remorsefully. 'This isn't real. Kairi's dead.'

"Good, you quieted down," said Kairi, still not raising her head. "I have to ask you to do something very important."

"But you're just a dream," said Sora.

"No!" snapped Kairi harshly, making Sora jump. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to say it like that. But this is more than just a dream."

"What do you mean?" asked Sora inquisitively. "If you're not a dream, then what are you?"

Kairi thought for a moment, her face still hidden from Sora's view. Eventually, she said, "I'm a spirit back from the dead."

Sora gasped audibly. "You mean…you're real?" he asked in a trembling voice. "You're not dead?"

"Yes, Sora, I'm real," said Kairi blankly, her voice devoid of any emotion. "And you can bring me back to life."

For the first time in four months, Sora felt pure, unadulterated joy. Tears of happiness sprang to his eyes. "You're still alive!" he cried. He ran toward Kairi as fast as his legs could carry him, ready to wrap her in his arms for the first time in a very, very long time.

"Don't touch me!" shouted Kairi, backing away. Sora screeched to a halt in wide-eyed horror. Kairi had spoken in a deep, masculine tone, much deeper than even Riku's voice. "What's wrong with you, Kairi?" he yelled in shock.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sora," she said hurriedly in her normal voice. "I just didn't want you to…"

But a cold realization had fallen on Sora. "I've heard that voice before," he said softly. He began to scroll through the long list of people he knew. "It was a long time ago…somebody that I had to fight…"

"Stop!" snarled Kairi in an almost doglike manner. She suddenly dashed forward and struck Sora squarely in the chest. He cried out in pain as he stumbled backward and tipped off the edge of the deep basin. He felt the heat from the lava searing his body as he fell toward what he knew was certain death. "Kairi…why?" was the last thing he said before his vision faded into blackness.


	6. Chapter 6

Sora jolted upright in his bed. He was breathing very quickly and heavily, his pale skin and clothes drenched with sweat. 'What just happened?' he thought hurriedly, in a state of horrible excitement and confusion. Soon, however, he became more awake and cajoled himself into calming down.

'Why would she do that to me?' This question lingered in his mind like an unpleasant odor, and he simply could not figure it out. 'She would never act like that. It couldn't have been her.' Suddenly, the obvious answer dawned on him. 'Of course, it wasn't her. It was just another dream.' But it had all been so real that time…

'It was a dream,' he told himself firmly. Actually, he desperately wanted to believe that it was real, that Kairi was still alive. But if it really had been her, then she had rejected him and even tried to kill him. Sora could not believe that.

He glanced at Riku, and noticing that he was snoring loudly, he crawled softly out of bed. He tiptoed to the heavy wooden door and swung it slowly open. The cool, playful air of early morning smacked him gently in the face. It was just before dawn, and the first glimmers of radiant sunlight were beginning to shoot above the horizon.

Without anything else to do, and a lot of time on his hands, Sora began to meander aimlessly through the tall hedges. He had never been out of his room quite this early before, and the beauty that surrounded him now was breathtaking. The morning dew glistened on the lush foliage like a patch of thousands of gems, reflecting the light of a beautiful sunrise above it. Sora stood motionless on the rugged path, taking in the gorgeous sights and aromas. He eventually resolved to visit Kairi's grave and sit there until the sun had fully risen into the sky.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound made him start. A strange, high pitched series of beeps, about one every second, filled the air. Sora began to carefully scrutinize the surrounding area with his ears and eyes, searching for the source of the noise. It seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the tall hedge to his right. He wondered if he should dash back to his room to summon Riku's aid, but he eventually decided against it. After all, even without his keyblade, he was far from helpless; he was incredibly agile, and had an excellent grasp of magic.

However, he still needed to discover what it was on the other side of that hedge. Eventually, he decided to magically assault it without permanently hurting whatever it was. He plucked a long, pointed stick off the ground, raised it in the air, and shouted, "Thunder!"

"Ooh! Ow!" An agonized voice rang from across the leafy barrier as the beeping came to an abrupt end. Sora felt a jolt of panic as he immediately recognized the tone.

"Ajedel!" he shouted. "I'm coming!" He shot down the path like a cannonball from its barrel, dust flying behind his feet in a thick wave. He reached the end of this particular hedge and quickly darted around the curve, back in the opposite direction, without even losing a tiny bit of speed. Ajedel came into his view. He was hopping around in a circle like a rabbit on a bed of coals, clutching his lower backside in pain.

Normally, Sora would have laughed out loud at this comic spectacle. But he feared he had seriously injured the scientist, and guilt combined with remorse forcefully pushed him to Ajedel's aid. "Gee, I'm really sorry!" he cried hastily. "Are you all right?"

Ajedel abruptly stopped his bouncing and began to stare at Sora intently. "Erm…I really am sorry," said Sora, taking a quick step backward. He couldn't tell whether or not the scientist's visage was full of surprise or fury. "I just thought you might have been a Heartless, or something like that…"

As quickly as it had come, the glare was wiped off Ajedel's face and replaced with a wide, friendly grin. "Oh, well, then. Good morning to you. Very nice out today, isn't it?"

Sora was more shocked than he would have been if Ajedel had attacked him. 'Maybe Riku was actually right about him,' he thought nervously. However, he immediately derailed that train of thought; he would not pass judgment on this man until he knew him. So, he asked cheerfully, "I haven't seen you since you came here. Where have you been?"

Now Ajedel's broad smile was rearranged into an expression of airy mystery. "Oh, I've been preparing my apparatus." He glanced furtively over his shoulder as if he was being followed, and then continued in a low voice. "Mickey has placed me in a very secret location, you see. I can't have anybody finding out about it."

Normally, Sora wouldn't have given an ounce of thought to Ajedel's inexplicable reaction, but he now remembered Mickey's words of the previous day, about a terribly dangerous discovery. He wondered if he really wanted to know more about it. However, burning curiosity had already taken a strong foothold in him, and he really had no choice but to find out. So, he asked, as nonchalantly as possible, "What is this apparatus you're talking about?"

"It has to do with my research," he muttered. For once, his face and tone did not drastically change. "It's very dangerous stuff I've been dealing with. I'm probably not safe with the information myself. But if certain other people found out about it, the entire universe would be in great peril."

A second wave of foreboding shot through Sora, but his deeply rooted curiosity quenched it and prompted him to ask another question. "Erm…" he said softly, fidgeting in his spot, "can you tell me about this research?"

Ajedel's eyes grew incredibly large, until they even began to touch the top of his nose. "Tell you?" he said, more in shock than in anger. "Well, I'd like to, but King Mickey is the only person I can trust right now! I don't know you at all. You could be untrustworthy with secrets, maybe even a spy…"

"Hey, I saved your ship and all your stuff when you first came here!" said Sora more loudly, feeling slightly ingratiated. "And Mickey will tell you that I'm a truthful person! He's known me for a long time."

"True, true, you did rescue me," mused Ajedel. He stood in silence for a long time, his visage reflecting deep thought. Eventually, he said, "Well, I suppose I could tell you a little bit about it. Nothing harmful there."

"Awesome!" said Sora in eagerly. He took a few steps closer to Ajedel, so as not to miss out on anything he had to say.

Ajedel took a deep breath, and began. "For the past decade, I've been studying a brand new group of beings. As of yet, I have no solid proof that these creatures exist, but my calculations show that they must be there." He bent over, and picked up a large black mass of metal and wiring resting on the ground by his feet.

Sora stared at the strange contraption in surprise and curiosity. "What's that thing?"

Ajedel smiled coolly. "Observe." He flipped the instrument over in his hands, and turned a small knob attached to a thick sheet of metal on one end. There was a short whirring noise, and then a soft, steady beep began to emanate from the machine.

Sora gasped audibly. "So that's where that sound was coming from!" he said in awe. "But, what does it do?"

"Give me a moment to explain more about these beings first," said Ajedel. He seemed rather enthused about explaining his work. "You see, I've been doing research on the essence of life for years and years, and I've come to the conclusion that a life cannot be destroyed under any circumstances. It simply isn't possible. If a person dies, their heart lives on. If a person becomes evil, they split apart into a Heartless and a Nobody, the heart and the body. But when a Heartless is killed, the heart that is emitted does not in any way carry the identity of its former self. Therefore, another being must be created at the death of each Heartless.

"I have called these creatures Shadows, as they are nothing more than shadows of their former selves. I have never seen one, but my research reveals quite a lot about them. In all likelihood, they lack a physical form, and probably act on instinct as Heartless do. This instrument I am holding is a Shadow detector, built by myself. It seems that Shadows leave an invisible residue behind them when they move. This will detect that residue and tell me how old it is."

"Wait a moment," said Sora, struggling to keep up with this onslaught of information. Intrigued as he was, he couldn't quite comprehend that every Heartless he had killed in his lifetime had simply been born anew. "Where are all these Shadows right now? There would have to be millions and millions of them…"

"You see, that's the biggest question I've had to answer yet!" said Ajedel. He was getting more and more excited with each passing sentence. "This castle is one of three places where I have found any residue whatsoever, and here it is three or four months old! The conclusion I have drawn is that each Shadow is sent away to some other location before it is fully formed. Probably an alternate universe of some sort, where they are trapped and cannot escaped. However, my data shows that a single Shadow must have escaped from that universe and come back to ours." Suddenly, he clasped his free hand over his mouth. "But no! I've told you far too much already."

"Wait!" protested Sora, very downcast. "Why is this research dangerous? What could somebody do with it?"

"No, no, no," said Ajedel, calm once again. "That piece of knowledge is in itself very dangerous. I may tell you the rest some other time, if you can prove that you are trustworthy. But for now, I must continue…"

Sora and Ajedel simultaneously jumped backward as the detector, which had been beeping regularly throughout the explanation, uttered a scream. It was so loud and so high pitched that some windows in the castle fifty feet above them began to rattle. "There's a Shadow in the castle right now!" shouted Ajedel eagerly over the earsplitting noise. "This way! Come on!" He began to run at speed that seemed impossible for a man of his age, down the path in the direction of Kairi's grave. Sora pulled a long, sturdy stick off a nearby tree and darted after the scientist, feet pounding on the dust covered path, ready for anything.


	7. Chapter 7

As Sora practically flew down the dusty path, right at Ajedel's heels, the relentless, earsplitting shriek grew louder and louder, until his ears were throbbing in pain. Yet, his insatiable curiosity was enough to overcome even this agony. He simply plugged his fingers into his ears and continued. The pair ran like this for over a minute, breathing heavily, both of their faces alive with eagerness. Sora glanced at Ajedel, and saw that his visage shone with something even more than curiosity.

They abruptly rounded a final curve. Sora immediately skidded to a halt, and had to seize Ajedel's arm and drag him to a stop to stop him from plowing right into the sea of black before them. "Heartless!" he screamed over the screech of the detector. "Tons of them!"

However, Ajedel seemed to be delighted! "Wonderful!" he cried. He looked from side to side at the black mass, then looked above it, and squealed with glee. "I'll be back in a jiffy. Don't let it escape!" With that, he turned on his heels and ran eagerly back down the path.

Sora stared incredulously after him for a moment, but there were far more important things at hand. He turned and gazed in despair at the army of Heartless stretched out before him. He knew that he couldn't possibly take all these on without his keyblade. Nevertheless, he plucked a thorny branch off a nearby bush and prepared to do what he could.

He then suddenly noticed that the Heartless didn't seem to be interested in him at all. He slowly lowered his makeshift weapon, staring in disbelief as they milled about aimlessly, scratching at the ground, squeaking and hissing at each other. Then his eyes caught another, ethereal figure floating above the mass, just as black as the beings below it, but much more humanlike. It seemed to have a feminine figure. "What's going on here?" shouted Sora boldly, unsure of whether or not the creature would answer him.

The apparition slowly turned to face him, and let out a long, slow moan that chilled Sora to the bone. He was just beginning to think that there was something familiar about the ghastly figured before it turned its gaze skyward and abruptly flew out of sight. At that moment, the scream emitting from the detector fell into a series of rapid clicks.

The Heartless now fell into mass chaos, like an army whose leader has been killed. They started rapidly running around the grass, occasionally clawing at each other or jumping on each others' backs. However, one by one, they turned to face Sora. Their eyes shone like shallow pools as they slowly advanced on him. Sora gulped in fear, and instinctively reached down to pick up the branch.

Suddenly, there was a crackle of thunder, and every single Heartless spontaneously burst into flames. There was a brief chorus of pathetic squeaking, then a cloud of dark mist, then silence. The Heartless were gone.

Sora stood rooted to the ground for a few seconds, staring numbly at the empty field that had so recently contained a small army. Then he heard running footsteps from behind him. Looking around, he saw that Ajedel had returned. He carried a shining silver rod in one hand, and a faded green box in the other.

"Was that you?" asked Sora incredulously.

Ajedel ignored his question completely. "Where is it? Where is it?" he asked excitedly, tossing the silver rod aside and holding the box before him like a flashlight. "Where did it go? It's got to be around here somewhere…" He began to run again, his white lab coat flying out behind him, to the detector lying in the dust. It was beeping less and less frequently.

Ajedel's eager expression instantly snapped into a frown of utter disappointment. "It's gone?" he said slowly, turning the green box over and over in his hands. He turned solemnly to face Sora. "It's gone?" he asked again.

For a few moments, Sora just stared blankly at him. He desperately wanted to scream, 'Please, just tell me what the hell is going on here!' However, he saw that Ajedel was in an extremely unstable emotional state: his eyes were even beginning to fill with tears. So, Sora just said cautiously, "You mean that shadowy thing? Yeah, it's gone."

"Ah, that is horrible news," said Ajedel sadly, though with a straight voice. "I thought I was finally going to get to catch one."

"Wait, that was a Shadow?" asked Sora eagerly. "That black person floating above the Heartless was a Shadow, and you were trying to catch it?"

"Yes, yes, that's what this box I'm holding was for," said Ajedel, staring forlornly at the spot where the Shadow had been. "I've been researching Shadows for years without ever finding or catching a single one on which to perform research, and I came so close this time…" He suddenly straightened, and turned back to Sora. "Wait, did you say person? Shadows cannot have a hominoid form. They are simply a shapeless mass of the remnants of their former selves!"

Sora had been listening excitedly to Ajedel, waiting for a vital piece of information to slip out of his mouth. He snapped back into his own mind after being addressed. "Well, I'm sure it looked like a person," he said. "Maybe a girl."

Ajedel's sadness was forgotten, and his face contorted in deep thought. "That is very strange. Very, very strange. I will have to give that some thinking."

Ajedel ventured onto the field that had been crowded by Heartless minutes before. He took a few steps, then suddenly tripped on something and fell to the ground. "My God," he said in exasperation. "Those blasted Heartless have been digging this field up!

"What?" exclaimed Sora. He ran out to the ground beside Ajedel. Sure enough, all the topsoil had been disturbed and thrown into little piles, and deep holes had been dug all around them. Then a second wave shock hit Sora as he realized that they were standing less than five feet away from Kairi's grave.

"What's going on here?" said Sora softly, a cold shiver running down his spine.

Ajedel turned to him. "What?"

Suddenly, three cries of "Sora!", and one shout of "Ajedel!" blended together in the air. Mickey, Riku, Donald, and Goofy ran down the garden path.

Ajedel's face brightened. "Mickey, there was a Shadow right here, right in this courtyard!"

Mickey seemed equally excited. "I know, we heard the buzzing! Come with me, tell me all about it!" They walked away to together, one three times the size of the other, chatting excitedly.

"What happened?" yelled Donald and Goofy simultaneously.

"Sora, why are you shivering?" asked Riku in concern.

"I'm fine," said Sora. He was still disconcerted by the presence of the holes, but he threw it off quickly. "The Heartless came here again!"

"Really?" asked Riku, suddenly as excited as Donald and Goofy. "What happened? Did you kill them?"

"No, I didn't have to," explained Sora. He then related everything that had happened to his three friends, including his talk with Ajedel before the Heartless had arrived.

All three of them stood mesmerized at the end of the story. "Gawrsh, you mean Ajedel killed all those Heartless with one blow?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Sora. He turned, grinning, to Riku. "Now tell me that he's a good-for-nothing crazy scientist!"

Riku was as shocked as the rest of them. "Wow, I…I didn't know he could that. Maybe I did judge him a little too quickly…" He averted his eyes to the ground in embarrassment.

Sora laughed and patted him on the back. "It's all good, Riku. Just be nicer to him from now on, okay?" Riku smiled weakly and nodded his head.

Donald, however, was interested in other things. "What is this about Shadows?" he spluttered impatiently. "I don't get those!"

"He didn't tell me much," said Sora. "He just said that a Shadow is born every time a Heartless dies, and it gets banished to some sort of realm, and that one escaped that realm and came back here. But then he just said it was dangerous information and he couldn't tell me."

"Gah!" quacked Donald angrily. "He's got to tell us more! Go find him again and make him tell you about it, Sora!"

"Donald!" said Goofy sternly. "You don't wanna make him scared of us, do you?"

Sora chuckled; his friends were at their antics again. "It's almost lunch time, Riku," he said to his friend. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry myself," said Riku. They left Donald and Goofy to their bickering and walked off down the path.

As Sora and Riku ascended the red velvet stairs to the castle's dining room, another thought struck Sora. "Riku, I need to tell you something. I had that dream again last night."

Riku sighed heavily. "I thought you had gotten completely over that, Sora! You're never going to get your keyblade back if this keeps going!"

"No, wait!" protested Sora. "Remember three months ago when I had it, then the Heartless came the day after? Well, it happened again! Don't you think there might be a connection there somehow?"

"No!" said Riku in exasperation. "It's just a dream, Sora. I've told this a hundred times before, and I'll remind you again. Kairi isn't coming back, and no amount of dreaming or hoping is going to make her!"

Sora hung his head and slowed down, allowing Riku to walk ahead of him. As always, Riku spoke the voice of fact and reason, but Sora still did not want to let go of hope. "You could be wrong, Riku," murmured Sora, far out of his earshot, mostly to himself. "What if those dreams are real?" He then realized that he was venturing into a train of thought that he hadn't dared to even touch before. He silently reprimanded himself and continued walking.


	8. Chapter 8

Another week or two passed through the halls of Disney Castle uneventfully. Then, one morning, as everybody in the castle sat down at the dark mahogany breakfast table, Mickey brought forth some important news.

"Friends, I have to tell you something. Quiet, please," he said sternly to Donald and Goofy, who were arguing over whose glass of papou juice was whose. They silenced themselves immediately and sat up rigidly, forcibly putting all their efforts into listening. Mickey continued, "I'm sure you've all been wondering where the recent Heartless attacks have been coming from. Now, thanks to Ajedel, we have a clue. He has set up high-powered sensors on the roof of this castle that detect Heartless activity over practically the entire known universe. Sora, Donald, Goofy, have any of you ever heard of Morphos?" All three of them simultaneously shook their heads. "It's a distant planet that has always been heavily populated by Heartless. However, over the past year, the darkness emanating from the planet has soared. There's got to be a connection."

"So, wait," said Sora, thinking as quickly as he could, "you think that the Heartless attacks are coming from this Morphos planet?"

Mickey smiled and nodded. "Exactly right! So, in a few days, Riku and I are going to go to Morphos and see what we can figure out. We don't want to fight them; we don't have nearly enough people to do that. But we may be able to find out just what's going on there!"

After that announcement, the table was much quieter. Donald and Goofy chatted on quietly between themselves, Riku and Mickey talked in an inaudible murmur, Ajedel began to tinker with a large metal box that looked distinctly like an engine, and Sora sat in his cushioned chair silently, prodding with his fork at the thick slice buttered toast before him. 'Riku's been chosen by Mickey again,' he thought wistfully to himself. Of course, he knew that this line of thought was completely pointless. Riku had a keyblade; Riku didn't spend all his time wandering around; Riku had proven himself to Mickey already; there were innumerable reason that Mickey should pick Riku over him. However, he just wanted Mickey to recognize him as worthy of his assistance, just once.

Also, Sora felt no animosity toward Riku. He never had. Riku had pushed him ruthlessly through training sessions, verbally abused him on Kairi's account, and always been favored by Mickey, yet Sora still loved him as the best friend he ever had. He looked up to him as an older brother, who knew everything that was best for him and did his best to help him out in every way possible. Sora just couldn't help the fact that he was constantly visited by these unearthly dreams.

Two days later, Sora, Ajedel, Donald, and Goofy stood facing Riku and Mickey in the Gummi hangar.

"Well, friends, we're leaving the castle now," said Mickey with an air of professionalism. "Sora, you should keep training with Donald and Goofy. And Ajedel…" He turned to face the scientist, and winked at him. "You keep doing what you're doing." Ajedel's head bobbed up and down ecstatically.

"When do you think you're going to be back?" asked Sora. On the whole, he was rather disheartened at Riku's departure.

"I'm not sure," said Mickey. "It depends on how dangerous Morphos turns out to be. But it shouldn't be more than a couple weeks, so hang in there, Sora!" After a short silence, he said, "Goodbye, everyone!" and climbed into the waiting Gummi ship behind him. Riku locked eyes kindly with Sora for a moment, then followed. The engine kicked in immediately after the door slammed shut. Highwind rose gracefully into the air, flew through the hole in the hangar's wall, and vanished from sight.

The rest of the company stood there silently for over a moment, staring off into the distance. "Gah, I'm bored already!" quacked Donald suddenly. He furiously waddled back up the stairs into the courtyard.

"Donald, wait!" called Goofy, running up the stairway after him. "Want to play checkers with that board Mickey gave you four years ago?"

"It's chess!" snapped Donald. "And you don't even know how to play!" They continued squabbling as their voices faded into the distance.

Sora was about to follow them, but a call of "Hey, Sora, may I have your assistance?" stopped him. Ajedel was kneeling beside his burnt ship, holding a pair of pliers in one hand and a black pipe in the other. "I need you to hold this for me!"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" said Sora, excited to have another chance to be with Ajedel. He ran over to his friend. "What do you need help with?"

Ajedel gestured with the pliers at a grey sheet of metal hanging loosely out of a hole in the ship's body. "Can you just hold that piece of the ostrinometer about a meter above the ground? This thing won't be able to land safely if the ostrinometer is not intact."

Sora decided it would be better not to ask. He lifted the metal sheet, which was so greasy that he needed two hands to support it. Ajedel inserted the end of pipe into the hole and began to push it in very slowly, occasionally using the pliers to fix some kink in it.

"So, you're repairing your ship?" asked Sora.

"Yes, as is evident," said Ajedel.

"Are you going to leave soon?" inquired Sora, hoping against hope that the answer would be no.

"Yes, I am," sighed Ajedel. "I have to search around for more Shadows to continue my research. This ship should be fully prepared for flight in approximately two days, and I plan to wait until Mickey's return to make my departure."

This disheartened Sora greatly, and he fell silent. They worked without talking for a few minutes, until Sora asked another question that had been burning to escape from him for two weeks. "Ajedel, remember that rod you used to kill all those Heartless? Well…how does it work?"

Ajedel chuckled heartily. "Oh, you mean the cadmium accelerator? It's a rather complicated device, possibly my favorite invention. Basically, it projects specially modified gamma rays around a wide area. These rays act on cadmium diphosphate, which is present exclusively in Heartless bodies. This causes the molecules to split apart and creates a vast amount of thermal energy that causes the Heartless to spontaneously combust. It's a simple concept, really."

"It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen," said Sora in genuine wonder.

"Thank you," said Ajedel kindly. Then he resumed his work with the tube, slowly working it into the ship. Sora had to constantly change his grip on the greasy sheet to keep it from slipping out of his grip.

Now, for the first time, Sora considered asking Ajedel about Kairi. He could not think why Ajedel could possibly know anything about it, but it was at least worth a try. "Ajedel?" he asked softly.

"Yes?" said Ajedel, without looking up from his work.

"Do you know anything about…um…" said Sora. He suddenly was completely lost for words. Abruptly, he realized how completely stupid it was to ask such a dumb question to such a smart person. Ajedel would never think of him the same again. His face grew as red as a beat, and he stammered, "Never mind…"

"Alright then," said Ajedel. He suddenly stood up, causing Sora to stumble backward in surprise. The metal sheet fell out of his hands and flapped down against the ship. "Well, I'm glad that's done," said Ajedel cheerfully. "Thanks for your help, Sora.

"You're welcome," said a subdued Sora. He slowly ascended the stairs and walked out into the courtyard. To his surprise, it was already evening, and several stars began to peek out from the veil of daylight.

"Sora!" called a shrill voice from above him. "What were you doing down there for two hours?" Donald was standing on the balcony.

"Wow, I guess I really lost track of time in there!" said Sora. "I've been helping Ajedel fix his ship…"

"Well, it's dark. Go to bed," commanded Donald.

"What? Who exactly do you think you are?" asked Sora playfully.

"Gah!" screamed Donald, and he went into a frenzy, stampeding around the balcony. "I'm the royal court magician! I'm a higher rank in this castle, and I told you to go to bed, so you go to bed!"

Sora laughed. "Alright, master, I cannot hope to be your match. I'll run along now." He jogged down the path, listening to Donald furiously screaming at him to be more respectful to authority.

He reached his room and flopped himself down on the bed. This was the first time in almost a year he had spent a night sleeping alone, and it felt rather lonely. As he lay on the pillow, allowing his mind and body to relax, he wondered what Riku was doing at that moment. "Fighting Heartless left and right, I'll bet," he thought. Sora longed for the days when his keyblade would return to him, and he'd be able to fight again as well. But that would not happen until…He suddenly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Sora slowly came to his senses to find himself in a vast, black chamber that seemed to go on in every direction forever. As he stood there, straining his eyes to look through the eerie darkness, he discerned several black shapes floating through the air around him. Everything seemed very familiar, but he didn't remember ever being here before…

Suddenly, the answer smacked him in the face. He had been here before! This was place of his dreams, where he had chased after Kairi down the tunnel, where he had talked with her, where she had pushed him into the hole…

As he thought about everything that had happened in this place, he began to believe he wasn't visiting a dream at all. Was it possible that this enormous room was real, and that Kairi was really here? Sora tried to suppress the simultaneous feelings of excitement of fear that threatened to engulf him. He cleared his mind, sat down on the rocky ground, and thought about what to do next.

At the moment, he had no idea how to leave, so that was out of the question. He eventually reasoned that if this was truly the same place, Kairi would still be here, wandering the dark passages. Sora simply had to know what had happened, and why she was here. So he rose to his feet, dusted himself off, and started walking. He didn't worry about where he was going; a strange yet powerful force was exerting a constant tug at his heart, and he followed that.

As he went, the black, shapeless blobs of smoke floating in the air swarmed around him, but never came close enough to touch. If Sora reached out his hand to grab one, it would hiss and quickly back away. Intrigued, he looked at these creatures, wondering what they were. Although he had the feeling that he should know, he could not fathom the answer.

Suddenly, all of the creatures abruptly stopped and let him walk forward alone. Sora's attention was quickly thrust balk into his journey, and he noticed a female figure sitting in front of him. She sat with her back to him, chestnut red hair flowing down to her shoulders.

"Kairi!" cried Sora. For a split second, he forgot that he had seen her here before half a dozen times.

Kairi jolted and jumped quickly to her feet, looking around wildly like a deer being stalked by a hunter. The muscles in her legs tensed, as if she were about to sprint away, but then a second thought seemed to fall through her, and she relaxed. Without turning around, she said, "Hello, Sora. I see you've found your way back to this realm."

"Kairi," repeated Sora, staring at her back. He could not decide on what exactly he should say to someone who had been dead for almost ten months. Eventually, he cleared his throat and stammered, "Kairi, I need to know…is this whole place…realm…is it just a dream? Or is it real?"

"Oh, it's all real, Sora," said Kairi. Just as she had last time, she spoke in a monotone voice, completely empty of excitement, fear, or any other emotion at all.

"So, um, does that mean you're real too?" asked Sora uncertainly.

"I told you last time you visited this realm. I'm real…if you can call it that. I am merely a shadow of my former self. I've lost everything, even my heart."

Sora was unnerved at the kind of language Kairi was using; he had never heard her talk like that before. "Kairi…last time I was here, you said that I could bring you back to life. Could I really do that?"

"Yes, Sora, you could," said Kairi. "And it would be quite easy on your part to do it. All you need to do is unearth my body."

"What, you mean dig it up?" asked Sora, appalled.

Kairi laughed: and unfamiliar, almost maniacal laugh that chilled Sora to the bone. "That's a rather crude way of saying it, but yes, I mean dig it up. Would you do that for me, your friend?"

Sora was becoming more and more uncertain with every passing minute, and this grotesque request didn't help. "Um…I guess so," stammered Sora. "But, why do I need to do that?"

"You're rather foolish, aren't you?" chuckled Kairi. "I cannot truly exist in the universe of the living without a body, and it's of no use to me buried under six feet of earth. I do not like existing in this state at all, Sora, and you are the one who can help me escape from it. I can rise from the dead…all you need to do is give me Kairi's body."

"Well, if I have to, then I will gladly…wait a minute," said Sora warily. Something incredibly out of place had caught his ear. "What do you mean, Kairi's body? What's going on here?"

Kairi stiffened. Cursing under her breath, she began to run away from Sora, into the darkness. Sora dashed after her, just like he had done every other time he had come here, with one crucial difference: this time, he had his wits about him. He was a much better runner and athlete than Kairi. He skillfully caught up with her and grabbed onto her arm, causing her to spin quickly and bump back into him. For the first time in months, he gazed directly into her face, at her pale, dimpled cheeks…into her green, blazing, snakelike eyes.

An impulse of horror pounded through Sora. "Who are you?" he shrieked, whirling away from her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound sincere. "It's me, Kairi."

"No!" shouted Sora fiercely. Though Kairi…or whoever she was…was hiding her face again, those sickening green eyes had burned themselves into his vision. "You're not Kairi. I want to know, who are you?"

Kairi stood silently for a couple moments. Then, without warning, she balled up her fist and punched Sora squarely on the jaw. He hit floor with a cry of pain, struggling to get back up on his feet. Then everything around him faded into darkness.

Sora bolted upright in his bed, clenching his fists, wildly looking around his room, searching for the fiend who was impersonating Kairi. He slowly became aware that he was awake, and fell into a state of dreary hopelessness. So, it was not a dream after all…but it wasn't Kairi either. Riku had been right: Kairi was gone, and some evil being was impersonating her, for some arcane purpose that Sora didn't even care to ponder. He felt as if he had lost her all over again.

Suddenly, just as he had begun to fall into sleep again, a thought struck him. Those flying black creatures…could they have been…Shadows? Sora abruptly sat up, back in deep thought. Everything that Ajedel had told him about a Shadow's appearance fit them. And they were all concentrated in one place. Realm, as both Ajedel and the fake Kairi had put it…

Sora instantly flung himself out of bed. Disregarding his unkempt hair, he dashed out of his room. The first rays of the sun were already peeking out from below the horizon. It was absurd to think that Ajedel would be up at the crack of dawn, but Sora only had one thought in mind at the moment: find Ajedel, and as quickly as possible.


	10. Chapter 10

Sora had barely been out of his room for thirty seconds when he whipped around a sharp corner of the hallway and slammed headlong into Ajedel, almost knocking him over. The scientist had been running almost as quickly as Sora had. He had a silver rod tucked into a fold of his lab coat, which Sora knew to be the cadmium accelerator, and he gripped the Shadow detector in both hands. It was clicking at a fairly rapid pace.

"Oh, jeez, sorry about that!" said Sora hastily. "Are you alright?"

"Never mind, I'm fine!" said Ajedel, as eager as he had been the time when the Shadow appeared. "But quickly, come along with me!" He grabbed Sora's arm and forcefully pulled him back down the corridor he had just come down.

Sora staggered as he tried to keep up. "What's up, Ajedel? Did something happen?"

"My detector tells me that there was a Shadow in the castle early last night!" said Ajedel breathlessly. "Its residue begins in the courtyard and winds all the way up here!"

"A Shadow?!" exclaimed Sora, suddenly just as excited as Ajedel was. He dropped back a little behind Ajedel and stayed right at his heels. His eagerness to tell Ajedel about his dream completely faded away in the moment.

After about thirty seconds, Ajedel abruptly stopped. He stared quizzically at the beeping detector. Then he turned to Sora, and said, a lot more loudly than he needed to, "It stopped right here at this door. It seems it turned around and began to go back the way it came. Let's go!"

"Wait, wait!" called Sora. "This is my bedroom! Why would it stop here?"

"That's rather interesting," said Ajedel hurriedly, "but we can discuss it later. Come on!" With that, he ran back down the passage. Sora sprinted after him, although he was beginning to get a bit tired.

The pair ran for a few minutes, and then came to the gigantic courtyard. Ajedel stopped again, staring at the detector. Then he sighed sorrowfully. "It's gone," he said. "The Shadow must have gone airborne at this point, and there's no reasonable way we can follow its residue anymore."

"That's too bad," said Sora, gasping for air. He wasn't used to sprinting for minutes on end.

Ajedel looked forlornly at the detector for a little while, then suddenly looked up at Sora, his disappointment shaken off. "So, what are you doing up at this early hour of the morning, Sora?"

Sora abruptly remembered what he was doing, and all his excitement returned with it. "Ajedel, remember what you told me about the Shadows?" he asked breathlessly. "That they live in a realm? Well, I think I've found that realm!"

Ajedel stared at him inquiringly. "You say you've found it? That's quite impossible. What are you talking about?"

"In a dream!" said Sora. "I went there in a dream! Actually, I don't think it was a dream anymore…but it had black flying creatures that looked exactly like your description of a Shadow!"

"Are you sure?" asked Ajedel. He seemed rather unconvinced. "I mean, I normally would believe you, but there simply is no way that you could enter the Shadow realm while you did nothing but sleep."

"Wait!" cried Sora impatiently. "Kairi was in there too!"

Ajedel suddenly stiffened, and an almost pained look came over his face. "Kairi? Kairi?" he said, looking directly at Sora with strangely misty eyes. "Kairi who?"

"Oh yeah, you've never heard of Kairi," said Sora confusedly. He could not fathom why Ajedel was acting like this after hearing nothing but a name. "She was my friend. She…died almost a year ago back on my home world. We never figured out why." He felt the familiar small pang in his heart that came whenever he talked about Kairi, but it was much lighter and easier to throw off than normal.

Ajedel relaxed. "Oh. I thought for a second you meant…well, never mind." He shook his head. "But…I…that's fascinating, to say the least, Sora! Are you sure it was her?"

Sora was about to answer in the affirmative, but the pair of green, burning eyes drifted back into his mind. "No. I'm not sure it was her at all."

"That's too bad," said Ajedel, beginning to sit down on a nearby wooden bench. Suddenly, he popped back up again. "Of course! I believe your story now!" he cried excitedly.

Sora was more confused than before. "What made you change your mind so quickly?"

Ajedel was practically hopping up and down like a rabbit with excitement. "Mickey has told me about you and Ka…that girl." He did not seem to like saying her name at all, and a wave of gloom even seemed to pass over his face; however, it disappeared after a millisecond. "I know about the phenomenal connection between you and your souls. That must have been you were able to enter the realm!"

"Wait a moment!" spluttered Sora. "What do you mean, souls? We were joined at the heart!"

Ajedel stared at him as though he had just said he didn't know what two plus two was. "You don't know what a soul is?" he inquired, shaking his head in shame. "You spent all that time collecting my master's research reports, and you never even bothered to read them?"

"You mean the Ansem reports?" asked Sora. "Yeah, Leon…an old friend of mine…told me that they were really important, but I was caught up in defeating Ansem…I mean, Xehanort," he added hurriedly as Ajedel gave him a horrified look. "I never got a chance to really look at most of them."

"Ah, youngsters these days," sighed Ajedel. "Well, I suppose I should inform you then. Every living creature has three entities to them: the body, heart, and soul. The soul is the piece that gives vitality and personality to the person; however, it also has strange connective powers, and is closely associated with the heart. My master, Ansem, has done much research concerning the soul, focusing mainly on you and…your friend. It seems that in your case, the soul can be used as a sort of locating beacon, to bring one of you to the other if it should ever become necessary. I do not know how this power works, however. But it does explain how you entered the Realm of Shadows!"

"So that really was Kairi in there?" cried Sora in a mixture of excitement and alarm. Ajedel again cringed at the name. "Then I've got to get back in there! I've got to rescue her, I've got to…"

"Don't be so jumpy," scolded Ajedel. "It's still quite possible that you were just having a wild, highly coincidental dream. However, there is a way to find out for certain."

"How? What is that way?" asked Sora wildly.

Ajedel looked warily around him, up into the colonnade overhanging the courtyard. "I don't want to talk about it out here. Come, follow me." He walked up a long, carpeted set of stairs which led to the balconies above. Sora followed him.

"Tell me, how exactly did…this girl die?" interrogated Ajedel as they walked.

"Well, I'm not really sure," explained Sora. "I went to sleep one night back on my home world, and some strange cold feeling woke me up. I went over to Kairi, and she was…dead. I have no idea what happened." For the first time, he was able to about Kairi's death without breaking down.

Ajedel did not respond, but seemed to be concentrated in deep thought.

Eventually, they reached library. Ajedel walked directly to a rusty iron door situated between two towering bookcases. He slowly opened the door, then suddenly turned around and stared Sora in the eye with an expression more serious than any he had worn before. "Sora, I think I can trust you completely by now. What I'm about to show you is currently known to only two people: myself and Mickey. I don't want you to say a word about it to anybody else. That includes Riku, or any other close friends you may have, no matter how trustworthy they may seem. Is this clear?"

"Of course," said Sora. "I'd have no reason to say anything."

"Very good," said Ajedel. He walked through the doorway.

Sora followed him into a dimly lit room, furnished by only a table, wooden stool, and several bookcases lining the walls. Everything in here was as clean as a new house. Ajedel went to the back wall, and pulled a faded blue book off the shelf. To Sora's surprise, it unveiled a shining keyhole! Ajedel pulled a silver key out of his pocket and fitted it into the lock. The entire bookshelf shuddered violently, and swung open with a creak.

"That whole wall is magically protected," muttered Ajedel to a wide-eyed Sora. "The protection was placed there by an ancient group of mages, long before Mickey ruled here. There is no known force that could break through it. They even placed a forgotten, one-of-a-kind spell on this lock that made it impervious to power of the keyblades. It is, without a doubt, one of the most secure locations in the universe."

Soon, a yawning, black hole sat in the middle of the wall where the bookcase had been. Sora silently followed Ajedel into the darkness.

"What's in here? I can't see a thing," muttered Sora uncertainly. Then there was the click of a switch, and the room filled with light.

Sora audibly gasped. This room had exactly the same layout as the one preceding it, down to the bookshelves on the back wall…but these shelves did not have books on them. Instead, they held rows and rows of clear plastic containers, each one heaped high with electronic screws. Some contained wires of all lengths and thicknesses, others held screws or bolts, while still others were filled with all manner of strange, metallic objects that Sora could not identify. The table in the center of the room was relatively clear, except for a few papers and electronic parts, but there were countless other tables along the walls. These held messy piles of parts or large masses of tangled wire and metal that Sora guessed to be unfinished inventions. A small corner was cluttered with boxes and baskets, which were heaped with yet more electrical devices. Next to them was a small, lumpy cot.

Ajedel looked at Sora's gaping mouth and laughed. "This is my workshop," he said cheerfully. "All the appliances that you've seen with me are manufactured and stored in this room." He gestured toward the baskets. "I also normally sleep in here as well."

"This is just…incredible," whispered Sora in awe.

"Hah, I'm glad you think so," chuckled Ajedel. Then he suddenly grew serious again. "Now, Sora, do you see why you have to be completely silent about this? There are inventions in here that could be completely disastrous if they fell into the wrong hands. Please, let me hear your promise again that you will never tell anyone."

"I promise," said Sora, still gazing around him.

"So, to business, then," said Ajedel rather loudly, snapping Sora's attention back to him. "Tell me, where did you live before you came here?"

"Destiny Islands," answered Sora. "It's a pretty small world. I doubt you've heard about it."

"You're right about that, I haven't. How far is it from here?"

"Oh, it's really close. It takes the Gummi Ship about an hour to get there."

"Would you be able to conduct me there?"

"I think so. I haven't been there for a long time,' said Sora confusedly. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because I'd like you to take me there, if you would."

"What?" exclaimed Sora. "Why?"

"Well," said Ajedel, "as I said before, I need to know whether or not your friend was actually inside the Realm of Shadows. And to test that theory, I need to go to the place that she died. Will you help me do that?"

Sora's heart lurched into his mouth. This was it…he was finally going to learn what it was that had killed Kairi. He nodded firmly and said, "Yes, I will."

Ajedel stared quizzically at him for a few moments, then smiled. "Alright, you're going to need some protection, since you haven't got your keyblade. If what I think about Kairi's death is correct, that place will be crawling with Heartless." He walked over to one of the large boxes by the cot and pulled out a long, silver rod. It was identical to the one that Ajedel was carrying now in his pocket. "You know what this is, I trust," he said, handing it to him. "You operate it by pressing firmly on this button, on the bottom of the rod. It should kill any Heartless within about twenty feet of you. But, please, don't abuse it. It can only carry two or three charges at once, and you're in trouble if you run out."

"Alright," said Sora. "Should Donald and Goofy come with us?"

"No, no, I have only two cadmium accelerators. And it shouldn't be necessary for you to tell them where you're going, either. We won't be gone over more than a few hours; we'll be back in time for lunch!"

With that, he flipped a light switch on the wall and left the darkened room behind, Sora right behind him. Ajedel gingerly pushed the bookcase back into place, locked the keyhole, and put the blue book back into its spot. "You sure you want to do this?" asked Ajedel kindly. "It's likely to be very dangerous, and you haven't really fought any Heartless for a very long time."

"I'll be fine," said Sora resolutely. "I've got to find out for myself what happened to Kairi."

Ajedel stared at Sora with something almost like admiration, his blue eyes misty as if clouded by a memory. "Alright then, let's go," he said, shaking it off.

The pair left the library, and walked through the colonnade and courtyard into the hangar. The Gummi Ship's absence oppressed Sora. "I wonder if Mickey and Riku are okay," he murmured to himself, though Ajedel heard it.

"Oh, don't worry about Mickey," he said cheerfully. "No number of Heartless could take him down. And I've heard that your friend Riku is no pushover either." Sora grinned weakly. "But no matter, we've got our own mission to fulfill," continued Ajedel.

He gestured fondly at his own ship, newly painted a crimson red, the hole in its side completely patched. "Don't worry," he laughed, seeing a look of apprehension on Sora's face, "I've already tested her. She flies just as well as she ever has."

Sora followed Ajedel through the narrow doorway. The ship's interior was pleasant enough, with two comfortable looking seats and an extremely elaborate control panel. "How do you keep all those buttons and dials straight?" asked Sora, staring at the impressive array of devices in front of Ajedel's chair.

"Oh, you'd get used to it if you flew this thing as much as I have," said Ajedel. He reached over the panel and started to play the buttons like a piano. The ship's engine clicked quietly to life. It flew silently into the air, the hole in the hangar's ceiling, and out into the blackness of space.

"Turn about eight hundred minutes to the left," instructed Sora. Ajedel silently did so, and they began there trip back to Destiny Islands.

"Ajedel?" asked Sora, a question nagging at his mind. "You said you thought you knew what happened to Kairi. What was your idea?"

Ajedel sighed heavily. "It's not a very pleasant idea at all. There's no point in worrying you about it until we're absolutely sure."


	11. Chapter 11

That hour, as the ship flew calmly through empty space, was one of the happiest hours Sora had lived through since Kairi had died. It wasn't because he was going back to Destiny Islands after all those months. He was finally going to find out exactly what had happened to Kairi, and he was so elated that he couldn't help but grin widely during the entire trip, so much that Ajedel periodically shot inquisitive looks at him. To Sora, after a year of endlessly fretting over this single mystery, the prospect of finally figuring it out was almost as good as being told that Kairi was going to wake up the next day.

The bluish-gold outline of Destiny Islands soon came into view. "Well, looks, like we're here," remarked Ajedel as he cautiously slowed the ship down. Sora nodded, only half paying attention. He was returning home, yet he couldn't recall any fond memories of the place. They had all been blocked out by the hell that was those last couple days he had lived here.

_Sora was in shock. He stared at Kairi's body with gigantic eyes, unable to comprehend what his instincts were telling him. A single, stifled yelp escaped his mouth, loud enough to awaken Riku. "Something wrong, Sora?" he asked lazily._

_Sora did not move from his seat on that bed for the entire next day and well into the night. Riku paraded around the island, shrieking, "What happened? How could this happen?" over and over again, but Sora couldn't find the energy or the will to speak or move. He sat on the bed and did nothing. Sometimes he gazed into Kairi's face, sometimes he stared at the floor, sometimes he closed his eyes and looked at nothing at all. He did not cry for a long time; he a bizarre idea in his head that she simply could not be dead, and that his senses were playing a cruel trick on him. When evening fell upon the island, however, he realized that he had been deliberately fooling himself, and that Kairi wasn't about to jump up and shout, "April fool!" She was dead. Sora broke down and wept, until his sleeves were literally drenched with tears._

_Riku entered the room around midnight, his face also plastered with dried tears. "I'm going to contact Mickey," he said, although Sora did not respond. He pressed a button mounted on the wall that Donald had designed to send a distress signal to Disney Castle. It was only supposed to be used in dire emergencies._

_This done, Riku sat on the bed next to Sora and cried. They sat there for almost an hour, on opposite sides of Kairi's body, letting their emotions flow out through their eyes. Suddenly, a dozen pairs of pale yellow eyes appeared at the open doorway. "Heartless!" screamed Riku in fury. He summoned his keyblade and threw himself out the door. Sora reached into the air, expecting his own weapon to fly to him, but nothing happened. He blinked his eyes in disbelief, and tried again: still, nothing. He screamed in frustration as he furiously tried to pull his keyblade out of the air. In the meantime, the Heartless had flooded into the room and formed a circle around him, inexorably closing in._

_Suddenly, a flash of lightning erupted from the door, causing all the Heartless to immediately die and disintegrate. Donald Duck stood there, his staff held like a mighty sword in his outstretched hand. "What are you doing?" he shouted. "We've got to get out of here now!"_

"_Yes, I'm coming!" said Sora softly. The sudden loss of his keyblade, coupled with Kairi's death, threatened to overwhelm him and send him into unconsciousness. He hoisted Kairi's lifeless body onto his shoulders and ran out the door as quickly as he could. The Gummi ship sat on the beach, surrounded by a sea of Heartless that Riku, Goofy, and Mickey were holding at bay. "Oh my God!" gasped Mickey as Sora plunged into the awaiting ship. He tripped over the threshold and fell over, allowing Kairi to roll over his head onto the floor. The rest of his friends followed him, and the door was slammed right on the antennae of the Heartless. Goofy quickly piloted the ship off the ground and away from that accursed world._

"Sora? You alright?" asked Ajedel concernedly, peering into his face.

"What? Oh, yeah," stammered Sora. "I was just thinking about…oh, never mind."

Ajedel seemed to somehow understand him, and he respectfully didn't question further, but turned his attention back to the massive panel before him.

At length, the ship entered the atmosphere of Destiny Islands. Ajedel and Sora simultaneously sucked their breaths in. "Would that be your home over there?" asked Ajedel, pointing.

"Yeah, I think so," said Sora slowly, although it was hard to tell for the vast number of Heartless that covered the ground like a blanket. Things hadn't changed a bit since he had left a year ago!

"Not exactly a tropical paradise," said Ajedel wryly. He pulled the cadmium accelerator out of his pocket and handed it to Sora. "Here, take this."

Sora stared at it in confusion. "Why? I've already got one."

"Yes, but now you'll have twice as many charges," explained Ajedel. "I'm not going to be able to use it; I need both hands free to use the Shadow detector." He pulled the instrument out of his pocket.

Sora was taken aback. "You think a Shadow killed Kairi?" he asked.

Once again, Ajedel flinched slightly at the name. "That would depend on your definition of the word 'killed'. Don't ask further!" he said loudly, as Sora opened his mouth to ask another question. "I will explain everything as soon as my hypothesis is proven. Now, take this cadmium accelerator." Sora plucked it from his hand and held it there, at the ready.

By now, the ship was landing in a shallow patch of ocean, right on the beach of Sora's old island. The Heartless turned their heads to stare at it as it made its slow descent. They slowly crept toward it.

"Well, are you ready, Sora?" asked Ajedel as soon as they were on the ground. Sora nodded firmly. The familiar mixture of excitement, anxiety and fear that came with the beginning of every battle was enveloping Sora for the first time in months, and he relished it.

"Alright, I'll follow you. You have to lead me to wherever your friend was when she died," instructed Ajedel. "Remember, the cadmium accelerators will take out all Heartless within a twenty foot radius. Only use it when absolutely necessary; you've only got between four and six charges!"

"Got it," said Sora. He threw the door open and jumped onto the beach.

The Heartless immediately rushed at him. "Wait there for a second!" he shouted to Ajedel, and he ran right through the mass of darkness. He counted his steps as he went, assuming that he could cover two feet with a single stride. "One, two, three, four…" The Heartless flocked around his heels, biting and scratching at him. Sora did his best to avoid them or kick them out of the way. "Five, six, sev – augh!" He cried out in pain a Heartless's claw reached home, tearing into his ankle and leaving a deep cut. He ignored the throbbing and continued. "Eight, nine, ten!" He slammed his thumb down on the cadmium accelerator's tip. He felt a fiery, sizzling aura surround him as all the Heartless around him shuddered and diffused into the air.

Ajedel was instantly at his side. "Excellent work!" he exclaimed. Then, noticing Sora's grimace, he asked, "Are you hurt?"

"Yeah," said Sora in a strained voice. His sock was already soaked in blood. "I got a pretty bad scratch on my ankle. I think I'm fine, though."

Ajedel seemed concerned. "No more running into the middle of the Heartless cloud. We'll just have to take half of its maximum range" Sora nodded gratefully. "Well, what are we standing here for? Keep going!" commanded Ajedel.

With a slight limp, Sora walked quickly across the beach and onto the grass, most of which was now brown and withered. He was immediately confronted with another wall of Heartless. He confidently pressed down on the silver rod, and another twenty feet of space opened up before him.

"Are we close?" asked Ajedel apprehensively. "I'm not picking up a signal yet."

"Yeah, it's right up there," said Sora, pointing to the old wooden house directly in front of them. "Come on, let's go!" The pain in Sora's foot had subsided enough to allow him to run, and he jogged to the next wave of Heartless. He stopped right in front of them, and pushed on the rod. Nothing happened.

"Ajedel!" he shouted nervously. "The cadmium accelerator isn't working!"

"Well, use the other one!" Ajedel shouted back. "Drat," he muttered under his breath. "We got a bad one…"

Sora quickly whipped the second rod out of his pocket and slammed his finger down on the button, just as the foremost Heartless flung themselves at him through the air. They immediately disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. There was now a direct route to the playhouse.

Behind him, the Shadow detector in Ajedel's hands suddenly began to blip. "I'm picking up a trail!" cried Ajedel excitedly. He ran past Sora, his nose buried in the detector. He was so engrossed in it that when he reached the house, he banged his forehead on the hard, wooden door and fell over. Sora would have broken into laughter if their lives weren't in danger. He ran to Ajedel and quickly helped him to his feet, then opened the door and dashed through it. Ajedel followed, slamming the door shut behind him.

Finally, they were out of the fray. Sora fell onto the bed that Riku had used to sleep in, wincing at the dull throbbing in his ankle. Ajedel, however, ignored him completely. Sora watched in amazement as the scientist slowly walked in circles around the room, at least a dozen times. Eventually, he stopped, directly in front of Kairi's old bed. He listened intently to the detector, which was still slowly beeping, and turned to Sora. "Is this where your friend died?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Sora.

"Then my hypothesis was correct," sighed Ajedel.

Sora was instantly back on his feet. "So a Shadow killed her then? How does that work? What does it mean? What if…"

Ajedel silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Questions can wait," he said. "We still have to get out of here, and that is a troubling dilemma. At best, we have only two charges left on the accelerator, and we may only have one." He began to pace the floor fretfully. "I'm not sure how we're going to work this out."

"Well, we could try walking across the trees," suggested Sora.

Ajedel spun around and looked him. "Walk across the trees? How does one do that?"

"Oh, it's easy!" said Sora. "Riku and I used to race across the treetops to the beach all the time. See, you jump onto the first tree from a window upstairs, and jump from tree to tree. They go all the way down to the ocean."

Ajedel thought for a moment. "Well, it seems rather risky…but it's better than anything idea I can come up with. Let's try it!"

Sora walked up the creaky stairs that led to the second floor, followed by Ajedel. There was nothing up here except an attic that had never really been used for anything. A single, wide window let light into the room, beyond which was a thin blanket of green leaves, spared from the fate the grass had suffered at the hands of the Heartless. Sora could clearly see the ship in the distance, about ten feet from last tree. "This is it," he told Ajedel.

"You go first," said Ajedel nervously.

"Alright, just one second," said Sora, sitting on a bench in the corner. The pain in his ankle was becoming overwhelming. He pointed the cadmium accelerator at his foot, concentrated his thoughts, and shouted, "Curaga!" The pain instantly subsided to nothing; there was nothing left of the injury except a bloodied sock.

Ajedel's mouth dropped wide open. "That was…that was simply incredible!" he whispered. "You are one of the most powerful mages I've seen in all my years!"

"Eh, I've had practice," grinned Sora, stowing the rod in his pocket. He was actually feeling rather dizzy; the curaga spell had taken a lot of energy. "Anyway, let's get out of here!" He hopped over the windowsill and onto the first tree.

The moment his foot hit the leaves, memories of the times he had had with his friends flooded into his head. As he cautiously jumped from one tree to another, throwing out his arms to stabilize himself before each leap, he remembered how he used to do this as quickly as possible with Riku right on his heels. Sora normally won these races; Riku was the faster and stronger one, but Sora was much more nimble. All the while, Kairi would run through the grass below him, laughing and cheering him. However, Riku was now replaced by Ajedel, crawling from branch to branch behind him with the utmost caution, and Kairi by the Heartless, peering up at him with their pale yellow eyes, wishing him to fall down. Sora gulped and tried to focus his mind on the trees before him.

After a few minutes, he finally reached the beach. Ajedel's sat in the water right in front of him; he could almost jump onto it if he needed to. Turning over his shoulder, he saw that Ajedel was just coming up behind him.

"Well, Sora, that wasn't such a bad idea after all," the scientist gasped, out of breath more from fear than fatigue. "In any case, you've brought us this far. Now all we have to do is get to the ship. Are you planning on jumping?"

"Why not?" asked Sora. "It's only a ten foot drop, and the accelerator should kill all the Heartless in our way.

"Well, I guess so," said Ajedel, eyeing the drop nervously. "I think I'll be able to make that."

"Alright, let's do it!" said Sora energetically. He activated the cadmium accelerator. An electric tingling once again filled the air as all the Heartless below them vaporized.

"Alright…jump!" shouted Sora. He hopped off the tree and landed on the sand, rolling over his shoulder and popping back up again. He glanced behind him to make sure Ajedel had followed, but he hadn't. The scientist was still up in the tree. "What are you doing up there?" called Sora.

Ajedel looked rather queasy. "That jump looks a bit bigger than it did before," he said, taking a step backward. "I might have been able to do it in my younger days, but I'm not so sure anymore."

"Oh, come on, Ajedel, there isn't time for this!" muttered Sora hastily, for the Heartless were slowly coming forward.

Ajedel still was undecided. "Don't worry, I'll quickly shinny down this tree trunk here, and then you can…"

"Gravira!" yelled Sora, pointing the silver rod directly at the leaf below Ajedel's feet. An unearthly humming emitted from the rod as the branch snapped, sending Ajedel falling to the ground.

The scientist stood up shakily, dusting the sand off his pants. "I guess I should thank you for that," he said softly.

"You're welcome, now let's get out of here!" shouted Sora impatiently. He grabbed the dizzy scientist's arm and pulled him into the awaiting ship. Ajedel then sprang back to life, ran to the monstrous control panel, and pressed a few buttons. The ship's doors automatically closed as it rose quickly into the air and sped away Destiny Islands.

Ajedel sighed in relief and slumped back in his chair, tired out by the ordeal. Sora, however, with his mind full of burning questions, wasn't about to let him relax. "Alright, Ajedel, we got off the island safely. Now will you tell me what you're talking about?"

Ajedel sighed heavily. "Alright, I suppose I owe you a few answers, though you're probably not going to like what you'll hear."


	12. Chapter 12

Ajedel's last statement carried a heavy shadow of foreboding, but Sora didn't care; he was so close to solving the mystery that had plagued him for almost a year. "Alright," he said commandingly, "first, what do you mean by saying that a Shadow killed Kairi?"

Ajedel seemed rather uncomfortable, and fidgeted a lot while he spoke. "Before I answer that, let me explain a little more about Shadows to you.

"As I have told you, Shadows are formed every time a Heartless dies, and they are sent to the Realm of Shadows immediately. Theoretically, that realm should be inescapable; it seems that isn't so. At least one Shadow has found a way to leave it and come to our realm. How that happened, I do not know. But there must be a connection to the realms that has not been discovered."

"That's interesting," said Sora impatiently, "but what has this got to do with Kairi?"

"Well, I'm getting to that," said Ajedel, growing more anxious with each moment. "Because Shadows are made of absolutely nothing, even less than the Nobodies, they can inhabit the bodies, hearts, or souls of other people. I'm not sure what the best way to tell you this is…but, you see, my detector can also discern whether or not a Shadow is carrying any of these entities with it. The Shadow that I was tracing back there entered the cabin without a soul, and left it with one."

"You mean that Shadow stole Kairi's soul?!" cried Sora.

"Ah, I knew you wouldn't like it," sighed Ajedel sorrowfully.

Sora was completely horrorstruck. "But…but…" he stammered. "What does that mean?"

Ajedel sighed again. "Based on what you told me about your dreams, it means that she was dragged back to the Realm of Shadows, where she is being held captive by the Shadow that I've been tracking around the universe. If it makes you feel any better, she has no consciousness."

"That's terrible!" cried Sora. His grief for Kairi, which had slowly alleviated over the months without her, flooded back in full force. Suddenly, he was struck by an idea. "Wait…if I could somehow get her soul away from that Shadow…does that mean she would come to life again?"

"Well, first of all," said Ajedel, "such a task would be incredibly difficult, maybe even impossible. And second of all, it's not that simple; you're forgetting about her heart. She needs that too to live fully, and I haven't the slightest clue where it is, although it was probably separated from her body when the Shadow took her soul. It must have been captured by another person, or else it would have returned already. If you can find her heart, still intact, and remove her soul from the Shadow's grasp, then yes…you would be able to resurrect her. However, such an endeavor would be fruitless. There really isn't any hope of it happening."

Sora did not respond; he simply could find the words to say anything. He just slowly sank into his chair and sat there with his head between his knees, feeling miserable. Ajedel was right…he now wished that he hadn't asked at all.

"You really loved her, didn't you?" remarked Ajedel kindly.

"Yeah," said Sora. He then hastily corrected himself. "Well, maybe not in a romantic way, I'm only seventeen…" There was a short silence. "But I did love her. A lot."

Ajedel turned his face away and stared off into space, lost in some distant memory. "I knew a woman named Kairi once," he said.

Sora instantly became attentive. This was probably why Ajedel seemed to cringe every time he mentioned the name. He said aloud, "You did? When was this?"

"It was a very long time ago," said Ajedel. "Back when I lived in Hollow Bastion, when I was Ansem's fellow researcher. "She was wonderful. We knew each other for a couple years, and I loved her very, very dearly. That was the only time I can say I've ever truly been in love." A wistful smile spread across his face. "But then Xehanort took over Hollow Bastion, and his Heartless began to attack. Most of us immediately took to our ships…but Kairi didn't make it. The Heartless killed her right before my eyes. I tried to run in there and save her, but I couldn't. I only barely survived myself." To Sora's utter shock, a tear rolled silently down Ajedel's cheek. Then he forced a very strained laugh out of his throat. "Ah, I don't know what got me going on that. Forgive me." He turned back to the control panel and began pushing buttons again.

Sora stared at him silently in a completely different light than before. He had never imagined that this scientist, who now devoted all his time to his studies, could have fallen in love with someone. Also, he realized that he had no reason to start moping around about Kairi. He finally knew why she had died, what was the point of dwelling on it any longer? 'Riku would be ashamed if he was here now,' he thought.

Soon, Disney Castle was in sight. Ajedel expertly landed the ship in the hangar and they disembarked. "It's already three thirty!" cried Ajedel, looking at the enormous mechanical clock on the wall. "That took a lot longer than I expected."

"Let's go up there, then!" said Sora. "Donald and Goofy are probably worried. We've got to find them!"

They were spared the trouble, however. Sora and Ajedel had barely begun to ascend the stairs into the courtyard when Donald appeared in the doorway. "There you two are!" he quacked angrily. "Where in the name of Duck Chieftain Rah have you been?"

"We went back to Destiny Islands," said Sora apologetically. "I promise I'll explain everything over dinner."

Donald was still furious. "Well, get up here right now! We need your opinion on this Nobody we found in the courtyard!"

"Nobody?!" cried Sora in alarm. He dashed up the stairs, almost knocking Donald over, and out into the garden. Goofy stood near the carpeted stairway, wearing a comically mean expression, holding a young girl firmly by the arm. "Hey, Sora!" he called. "I just caught this Nobody causing a lot of mischief. We were going to throw her in the dungeon, but she kept saying she wanted to talk to you."

The girl seemed exceedingly relieved. "Oh, Sora, I'm so glad you're here! I've got to tell you something!"

Sora stared at her in amazement. Her blonde hair was dirty and tangled, and her white dress was caked with mud, but he thought he recognized her. "Naminé?" he said tentatively. "Is that you?"


	13. Chapter 13

"Yes, Sora, it's me!" said Naminé. She tried, in vain, to pull herself free of Goofy's grip. "This is your friend, right? Could you tell him to let go of me?"

Sora's mind was a whirl. "But…how did you get here? And how are you still alive? I thought Kairi reabsorbed you long ago!"

Ajedel and Donald presently burst into the courtyard. "It's just a girl!" exclaimed Ajedel, turning sternly to Donald. "What was all that rush about?"

"Ajedel, this is Naminé," interrupted Sora. "I've only met her once before, in the Nobodies' castle. She's Kairi's Nobody."

"What?!" shouted Ajedel sharply. He thought for a few moments, then noticeably relaxed. "Ah, yes, Mickey told me something about Naminé. Isn't she the one who stole your memories in Castle Oblivion?"

"Castle Oblivion?" repeated Sora confusedly. "What are you talking about?"

Ajedel smiled wryly. "I guess you wouldn't know what I was talking about. But the point is, I'm all that surprised that Naminé is back. When Kairi…your friend…had her soul removed, she must have popped out. The baffling question is, however, how did she get here?"

Naminé was still struggling to free herself, and it seemed to be annoying Goofy greatly. "Should I let go of her, Sora?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's not dangerous," Sora assured him.

"Well, if you're sure," said Goofy doubtfully.

He let go of Naminé, who instantly ran to Sora and hid behind him. "Sora," she cried earnestly, "I really need to tell you something. I hope this won't make you too angry…" She drummed her fingers nervously against her palm as she spoke.

"She dug up Kairi's grave!" shouted Donald furiously, pointing an accusatory finger at the cowering girl. "And she won't tell us why!"

"You did what?" exclaimed Sora, whipping around to face Naminé, who squealed and backed away from him.

"Please, I can explain…"whispered Naminé pleadingly.

Sora rushed past her and dashed down the path toward the grave. He wasn't quite sure whether or not he believed what Donald said; he couldn't fathom why someone who had rescued Kairi from the Nobodies' dungeon would do something like this.

When he reached his destination, Sora was initially relieved to see that the gravestone sat undisturbed in its little alcove. However, as he drew nearer, he realized that the stone was guarding nothing but a hole. It was about three feet deep and just wide enough to allow a small person to be lifted out of it. And it was empty, except for a muddied spade.

"I can't believe this…" muttered Sora aloud, shaking his head in shock.

His friends soon came flying down the path after him. Ajedel was holding Naminé by the arm and was practically dragging her along behind him. "See, I told you!" said Donald triumphantly, staring at Naminé with hatred. "Shall I throw her in the dungeon?"

"No, Donald, have patience," ordered Ajedel. "I believe Naminé said that she could explain her actions." He turned his stern gaze to the girl. "So, Naminé, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Naminé looked absolutely terrified. Her legs were knocking beneath her, and her face was turning a brilliant, shining shade of white. "Well…um…" She was having a hard time forcing the words out. "Yes…I do have a story…"

"Well, you'd better get telling it then!" shouted Sora, feeling a terrible fury rising up inside him. It was all he could do to stop himself from grabbing a stick and whacking Naminé across the face.

Naminé squealed again and took a few more steps away from the group. All four of them were staring at her with cold, angry eyes. She cleared her throat, tried to collect herself as best she could, and began. "Well, when I was separated from Kairi, I went to a strange place. It was dark, and stormy, and…pretty scary."

"The Twilight Realm," remarked Ajedel. "It's where all Nobodies go upon their creation."

"Well, I was there for a really long time," Naminé continued slowly. "Then last night, I found Kairi spirit…or something like that."

"Kairi's spirit?" cried Sora. "What are you talking about?"

"I think it was something like that," stammered Naminé. She sobbed softly in between sentences. "It was black and smoky and weird…but it looked just like Kairi, and it sounded just like Kairi!"

Sora turned to Ajedel, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Could that be her soul? No, never mind, that doesn't make any sense. Because she wasn't black and smoky when I met her…"

"No, it was definitely her soul," said Ajedel darkly. "I can't think of any other explanation. And it was possessed by that Shadow as well. You're forgetting, Sora, that the Realm of Shadows has completely different physical properties than the rest of the world. A possessed soul in this realm would look much darker and less realistic than it would there. Anyway, go on, Naminé."

"Well, she told me that I could bring her to life," said the trembling girl. "I asked her how, and she told me I had to…I had to…" She now began to cry and gestured with a shaking hand at the whole dug in front of Kairi's gravestone.

Sora instantly remembered his conversation with Kairi's soul the previous night. "That's exactly what she told me!" he said. "That I had to unearth her body to bring her back to life! That was right before I found out that it wasn't really her."

"That's very interesting indeed," said Ajedel quietly. "It seems that the Shadow that invaded your friend's soul has a plan to resurrect her. But I assure you it's not for any benevolent reason."

"Right," said Sora. He was now more fascinated than angry at Naminé. "So…what happened then?"

Naminé swallowed heavily and continued. "Then she made a portal and told me to step through it. I ended up right here…and then she told me to find a spade and…" She sobbed a few more times before finishing her story at an extremely rapid pace. "And I dug up Kairi's body, and then her soul me to pick it up, and I did, and I followed her to a room over there, and Sora was sleeping but Kairi told me not to wake him up, and I put the body on a bed next to him, and then I followed her back into the yard, and Goofy found me and kept wandering around the halls of the castle until you came!" She fell to her knees and completely broke down into tears.

"You mean…Kairi's been in my room ever since last night?!" gasped Sora. Naminé nodded. "Wow, I guess I wasn't paying attention at all when I woke up this morning."

"Well, it does prove one thing," remarked Ajedel. "It definitely was Kairi's soul, possessed by a Shadow. The trail of Shadow residue leading to your room seems to suggest that."

They all stood silently for a few moments, except for Naminé, who was still sobbing softly. "Well, shall we go to your room, Sora?" asked Ajedel eventually.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Sora.

"Wait, wait!" shouted Donald. He walked over to Naminé, who hurriedly stood up and backed away. "Can I throw her in the dungeon now?"

"No!" commanded Sora. Remembering the way he had treated Naminé, he now felt absolutely horrible. "Naminé, I'm really, really sorry I yelled at you like that. I just kind of lost myself, and I shouldn't have reacted like that."

Naminé looked up at him with a tear stained, yet brightened, face. "That's fine," she said. "I'm sorry too…I shouldn't have done something like that without asking you."

"Alright, let's go," said Sora to the rest of them. He began to walk quickly toward his room, followed by Naminé, Ajedel, Goofy, and a livid Donald bringing up the rear.

They walked down a hallway to the wooden door that marked the entrance to Sora's bedroom. Sora took a deep breath and hesitantly opened the door. The light that streamed in through the opening fell upon Sora's bed, which he had not made in his haste that morning, and on Riku's bed next to it, which held…Kairi.

She looked exactly like she had on the day she died. Her eyes were closed in a comfortable, almost serene way, almost as if she were merely asleep. However, the most shocking thing about her appearance was that neither her clothes nor her body had been touched by decay in nearly a year of being buried underground.

"How did you carry her all this way?" asked Ajedel in amazement. "She's bigger than you are!"

"It took a little while," said Naminé. She was still extremely wary of all of them and stood in a corner of the room.

"It must have," remarked Ajedel. "Anyway, I need to check something." He reached into one of the folds of his lab coat and pulled out the Shadow detector. After a few moments of fiddling, it began to beep rapidly. Ajedel sighed. "Yes, there was a Shadow in here last night."

"Please, if I may ask," stammered Naminé timidly from the door, "what's a Shadow? Does this mean that it wasn't really Kairi?"

"You know, I was kinda wondering about that too," said Goofy. Donald nodded his agreement.

Sora looked uncertainly at Ajedel, who addressed Donald, Goofy, and Naminé. "I may decide to inform you all later, but this information must remain confidential for the time being. I want you all to go down to the courtyard and wait for me there." He now turned specifically to Donald. "Naminé has done nothing wrong, Donald. If you do so much as lay one feather on her, the term 'fourth degree burn' may begin to have some meaning to you."

Donald was instantly cowed. "Y-y-y-yes sir!" he said, before running out the door. Goofy went after him, followed by a reluctant Naminé.

Sora and Ajedel were now alone in the room, along with Kairi's body. "Now, Sora," continued Ajedel, "here's what I need you to do. I have no earthly idea why that Shadow wanted Kairi's body unearthed, but it's likely to be intended for dark ends. I want you to stay in here for a while and see if the Shadow returns. I will leave the Shadow detector here…if it begins to scream, you'll know that there is a Shadow in the immediate vicinity." He placed the beeping device on the bed next to Kairi. "I'll be back in a few minutes to join you; I need to invent some story that will keep your friends happy for the time being. Is this alright?"

"I guess so," said Sora. One thought was throbbing through his head that was worrying him immensely. "Ajedel…what do you think that Shadow is going to do with Kairi if he someone manages to bring her back to life?"

"I have no idea," admitted Ajedel. "But don't worry, unless it knows where her heart is, it cannot resurrect her."

"Okay," said Sora. This was bizarre…after spending a year moping about Kairi's death, he was now exactly wishing that she wouldn't rise again, for fear of what might happen if she did. "I'll stay here in wait for you."

"Give me a holler if any Shadows should appear," instructed Ajedel. Then he left, closing the door behind him.

Now alone, Sora took some time to stare at Kairi, lying serenely on the bed. He noted with some humor that Naminé had taken the time to clasp her hands across her chest. As he stared at her, all the memories of the times they had had, which he had been trying to suppress, came flooding back: memories of racing across the grassy island, of building sand castles on the beach, of sleeping outside under the stars.

Then, for some inexplicable reason, an extreme drowsiness fell over him, as if he had just been dealt a blow to the head. He didn't even have any time to think about why he was suddenly so tired before he fell into a deep slumber.


	14. Chapter 14

Sora awoke to find himself enswathed in darkness. He was afraid and confused for a few seconds, but it didn't take him long to figure out where he was: in the Realm of Shadows.

'For the second night in a row?' he thought incredulously. But he could not be mistaken about it, for the black masses of smoke, which he now recognized as Shadows, were everywhere.

He immediately made up his mind to search for Kairi, and whatever Shadow was possessing her. If he could find her, and somehow force her to explain some things…Sora wasn't sure if he really wanted to know any details, seeing what the little Ajedel had explained had done to him. But his curiosity wasn't going to give in to worries like that. So he started walking, following the mysterious tug at his heart that had always seemed to lead him straight to Kairi. Maybe…if a miracle occurred…could he even find some way to free her soul? But Sora shook this thought off quickly; he wasn't going to let himself be disappointed again.

He had barely been walking for a minute when he caught the outline of a human figure in the distance. It was unmistakably Kairi, and her back was turned to him.

Adrenaline began to rush through Sora's body as he hastily formulated a plan. He needed to subdue her so she couldn't attack him or escape, but he didn't want to harm her; she was still Kairi, the best friend he had ever had, no matter what evil creature was inside her. He eventually resolved to sneak up behind her, as silently as possible, and pin her to the ground.

He took a deep breath, and began to tiptoe toward Kairi. The hard, stone floor allowed him to move swiftly, but it did nothing to deafen the sound of his footsteps, and try as he might, he could not prevent his shoes from making a soft thud every time they hit the ground. Kairi, however, never turned around; she seemed intently focused on something in the distance.

At length, Sora was only a few feet away from her. He crouched to the ground, prepared himself to wrestle her to the floor, and pounced.

At that exact moment, Kairi whipped around and met him in midair with a backfist to the side of the head. As Sora came crashing to the ground, stars flying before his eyes, she jumped backward and kicked him sharply in the ribs. Sora cried out in pain and crawled away on all fours. Kairi followed him in an almost manner, and kicked him to the floor again. She stood over him, staring at him with those pale, green eyes that even now caused Sora to shudder. "Oh, Sora, it's you!" she said mockingly. "I'm so, so sorry I did that to you!"

Sora lay still for a few moments, then suddenly leapt to his feet swung his fist at her violently, catching her in the jaw. She jumped back in alarm, giving Sora enough time to turn around and put a little distance between the two of them. "I want to know now," he challenged her, "who are you?"

Kairi threw her head back and laughed: a deep, masculine laugh that Sora had heard her use once before. It sent chills down his spine. "You were rather close to finding out yourself that day I pushed you through the portal," she said, speaking in that same voice. "I'll give you a little more time now: who do you think I am?"

Sora instantly recognized that laugh. "You're Ansem," he stated.

Kairi laughed again. "Oh, I gave up that name long ago. I do insist that you call me Xehanort…after all, that's what everybody will call me once I am the ruler of the universe." He began to slowly advance on Sora.

Sora stepped backward to match him. "Give Kairi's soul back!" he demanded.

"Oh, I think I'll hold onto her, thank you," chuckled Kairi. "She's been causing quite a bit of mischief, actually. How many times, exactly, has she summoned you to this realm? Six? Seven? Yes, your friend has forced me to go through a lot of trouble to hide my identity from you. It doesn't matter any longer, though."

Sora gulped. Kairi was still in there…and she had been calling out to him all this time. "What do you want with her?" he challenged.

Kairi stopped advancing and thought for a moment. "Well…I suppose I could tell you that much. It's a very interesting story. I'm quite proud of it, actually.

"Let's start a ways back, when you foiled my plan to unleash darkness onto all the worlds. Ooh, I still despise you for that. The moment I was engulfed in the light of Kingdom Hearts, I was transformed into a lowly Shadow and sent this despicable realm.

"It's not particularly pleasant to be nothing but a Shadow. You lose your body, your heart, and your soul, and are left to wander in this darkness, with nothing but the hope of an eventual escape. Most of these fools…" He gestured to the Shadows flying all around him. "…spend all their time and hope on the main portal out of this realm. Do you remember the hole that I shoved you through a few months ago? Yes, that's what I mean. The only things that can pass through it, unfortunately, are souls. None of us lowly beings were allowed through.

"While the other foolish Shadows attempted to force their way through that impassable barrier, I ventured into the unknown darkness, hoping against hope that I would find an alternative. And after countless months of searching, I did. I found an open passage that led to Castle Oblivion.

"I reveled in my freedom, and immediately discovered that I could inhabit bodies, souls, or hearts of higher beings. At that point, I could have chosen any man in the universe to possess. However, an ordinary man would hardly help me achieve my goals. I needed a keyblade master.

"First, I found you, wandering the halls of Castle Oblivion. I attempted to take you for my own right there and then, but was confronted with an embarrassing paradox: the power of your keyblade protected you and prevented me from touching you. It was a good piece of luck that I found my way out this realm then, because you soon locked the keyhole and sealed that path off forever."

"What are you talking about?" shouted Sora angrily. "I've never been in any place called Castle Oblivion!"

Kairi laughed. "I suppose you wouldn't know about that, now would you? Anyway, it doesn't matter. I soon found Riku, still consumed by the darkness I had placed in him. I could see that he had been chosen by a keyblade, but had not realized it yet. He was very strong, and yet vulnerable to my penetration…my perfect target. I approached him and fought him…but he defeated me. Even worse, he forced me into his heart and imprisoned me, using my dark power for the purposes of light. Those were the worst months of my entire existence. Fortunately, I was freed by the explosion of Ansem's machine.

"I spent another six months wandering the darkest corners of the universe, trying to find another person suitable for me. I eventually came across your world again, and found Kairi." Sora clenched his fists in fury. "She was in exactly the same position as Riku: the keyblade had chosen her, but she had not yet accepted that fact."

"Hey, wait a minute!" said Sora. "Kairi's a keyblade master?"

"You didn't know that?" chuckled Kairi. "She even fought with her keyblade in the Nobodies' castle. I have not the slightest idea why you assumed that she wasn't one. In any case, in light of my defeat at the hands of Riku, I decided that attacking her immediately would be a mistake. I waited until she fell asleep, and then struck."

"You coward," muttered Sora in anger.

"Coward, you say?" said Kairi. "Perhaps I am a coward. But it doesn't matter at all, now does it?

"My plan had been to inhabit Kairi's body, kill you and Riku in your sleep, seek out any remaining keyblade masters and destroy them, and rule the universe with my uncontested power. But then, something unexpected happened. The moment I laid hands on her, her heart and soul separated from her body. I had to chase after the soul to prevent it from being lost in space. By the time I made it back to the bedroom, you were awake. I had to flee to the Realm of Shadows through the portal that had for so long been of no use to me."

"Well, what happened to her heart?" asked Sora.

"I thought that would be obvious to you," said Kairi tauntingly. "It's within you, of course."

Sora was taken aback. "It's in me?!" he cried, putting a hand to his chest.

"Really, I thought that would be intuitively obvious," laughed Kairi. "You know very well that the same thing happened once before. What made you think it wouldn't happen again?"

"Kairi's heart is inside me?" he repeated softly. But of course…it all made sense. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of this earlier. 'I even spent some time with Ajedel wondering where her heart could be, and it never crossed my mind that…" He wanted to slap himself for his stupidity.

"Allow me finish my story," said Kairi. She began to slowly step toward Sora again. "When you absorbed Kairi's heart, I thought my entire plan had failed. However, something truly miraculous happened: you lost your keyblade, meaning that I had full access to her heart again. Now, all that stood in between me and the full resurrection of Kairi was her body, which you had annoyingly buried under six feet of earth.

"I first attempted to uncover it by sending Heartless to do the job. Unfortunately, those miserable beings failed to make any progress whatsoever, and were swiftly killed every time I sent them. Then Kairi, being the annoying kid that she is, began to summon your soul to this realm while you were asleep. This presented me with a dilemma; I could not risk letting you discover my identity, so I ran away from you every time you appeared. However, last night, I decided that would be able to use you to my advantage. I attempted to persuade you to dig up Kairi's body, but I failed, and in the process almost revealed my identity.

"In my despair, I began to wander the Twilight Realm, and that's where I found Naminé. She had been released from Kairi when I had stolen her soul, and it was rather easy to convince her to unearth the body."

A burning anger had been building up inside Sora throughout the entire story, and it threatened to explode. "So, this whole time, all you've wanted was to get Kairi's body out of the ground, so you could possess it?"

"Of course," laughed Kairi. "And it worked, did it not? I have her soul, you have her heart, and her body is lying in the castle, just waiting for me."

So, all of Sora's dreams and the strange appearances of the Shadow made sense now; for the past year, Sora had been deceived by Xehanort. He clenched his teeth in a fury that he had never felt before. "Give her back!" he screamed.

Kairi chuckled softly. "No, I'm done playing with you. I need Kairi's heart, and you're going to give it to me, whether you want to or not. Now!" With that, she dashed across the stone floor and jumped at Sora, green eyes glowing with a terrible hunger.

Sora tried as best he could to fend off the volley of punches that Kairi threw at him, but it was no use. After a year of almost no fighting at all, his stamina and skill had suffered drastically. Kairi quickly found an opening and landed a punch directly on Sora's jaw that sent him reeling to the ground. She hoisted him roughly to his feet and threw him against a wall, pinning him there. "Kairi's heart is mine!" she cried, her horrible eyes lighting up with glee. Then she plunged her hand into Sora's chest.

A loud explosion filled the air as if a massive bomb had just been set off, and Kairi flew backwards with a cry of pain, slamming into the floor some distance away. At the same time, a red, shimmering heart drifted out of Sora's chest. It flew into the sky, quivered for a moment, and vanished.

Sora stood dumbfounded. "What just happened?" he said softly, not to anyone in particular.

Kairi slowly rose to her feet, dusting herself off and looking around her. "Sora?" she said uncertainly. "Where are we?"

"Cut that out!" demanded Sora angrily, taking a few steps backward in case Kairi should charge him again. "Tell me now, what just happened?"

Surprisingly, Kairi hurriedly stepped backward as well. "Are you all right, Sora?" she asked meekly. "Why are you angry?"

"Listen, Xehanort, if you don't tell me right now why…" He suddenly stopped, and took a closer look at Kairi. She no longer sported the green, lamplike eyes that made Sora cringe every time he saw them; her eyes were now sky blue. Exactly the way they had been before she died.

"K-Kairi?" he said blankly, not quite believing what he was saying. "Is that really you?"

"Of course," said Kairi, backing further away from him in fear. "What are talking about? Did something…" She was suddenly thrown onto her stomach, as if an invisible force had pushed her behind.

"Kairi!" cried Sora, rushing over to her. The realization that this was actually Kairi was slowing dawning on him, even though he still wasn't sure if he should believe it.

To Sora's horror, Kairi immediately leapt to her feet, and her eyes were again green and snakelike. "My, what a stupid fool I am," she muttered, staring at Sora in anger. "How could I forget? Your friend Kairi is a Princess of Heart…I should have known that I could not lay hands on her heart like that. If only I had been more cautious…"

Sora could not emotionally handle this rapid slew of events; he was about to break down. "What just happened?" he shouted.

"I tried to touch Kairi's heart, and as a result, I was flung from her soul," she murmured in fury. Then, he suddenly brightened. "It doesn't matter, though. Kairi's heart has gone straight into her body now. It is still just sitting there, ripe for the taking!" Once again, she threw back her head and laughed.

"Arrrreugh!" screamed Sora. He simply could not take this any longer. He ran at Kairi with all the speed he could muster, preparing to jump on her and wrestle the Shadow back out of her in whatever way he could. He no longer cared about any consequences.

However, just as he was about throw herself at her, Donald's elated voice filled his head. "Sora! Sora! It's Kairi! She's moving!" Then his world was flung into darkness.


	15. Chapter 15

Sora was still snarling in fury as he awoke. Bolting upright in his bed as though he had been pricked in the back of the head by a red-hot poker, he glanced around the room wildly. Donald, Goofy, and Ajedel were all gathered around his bed. "I saw her again!" His face was alight with an almost insane rage. "She's up there in that realm, and Xehanort is the Shadow that has control of her! I've got to go back up there! I've got to save her! If I don't, then she's gonna…"

His voice trailed off as he realized that none of his friends were paying attention to what he was saying. They weren't even looking at him. They all were gazing wordlessly in the direction of Riku's bed, which at the moment held Kairi's body. Something over there had a complete hold on their attention. Sora slowly got to his feet and peered over Ajedel's shoulder, wondering what on earth could be so interesting. The shock that rippled through his body at what he saw surpassed anything that he had seen or heard in his dream that afternoon.

Kairi was sitting up.

"Kairi!" The name ripped involuntarily from Sora's throat as he vaulted onto the bed and clutched both of her hands, staring at her face with eyes that were already beginning to water up with tears. "Kairi! Kairi!" He just couldn't stop saying her name. Was this real, or was it merely a cruel continuation of his dream? No, Ajedel had said that this exact thing could happen…it had to be true. She was alive!

However, Kairi never opened her mouth once to talk. Her blue eyes gazed blankly at the boy kneeling over her, devoid of any emotion whatsoever. "Kairi!" cried Sora again, his elation instantly changing to alarm. "What's wrong? Can't you hear me? Oh, Kairi!" He furiously shook her by the shoulders, her head knocking harshly on the wall behind her.

"Sora!" yelled Ajedel. "Don't do that, you might hurt her!"

Sora looked up at the scientist, tears now streaming down his cheeks. "What's wrong with her?" he whispered softly. He wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

"What in the name of Kingdom Hearts happened while you were asleep?" asked Ajedel. He sounded immensely confused.

"Well…well…" stammered Sora. He choked back an agonized sob before continuing. He gave Ajedel a brief account of what had transpired between him and Kairi, but he wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. Throughout the entire description, he stared at Kairi, propped up against the wall, who stared back at him. Not once did she show astonishment or delight at being alive, at seeing Sora again. She was completely indifferent to everything going on around her. To Sora, after a full year of wishing and even hoping that she might come back, the sight of her in this zombie-like state was almost enough to make him break down right there on the bed.

After Sora finished his narrative, Ajedel seated himself on the unoccupied bed and fell into deep thought for several minutes. "I think I know what's going here," he said eventually. "You say that a heart left your body when that Shadow possessing Kairi…your friend, possessed by the Shadow…tried to steal it. Obviously, that wasn't your heart…it must have been your friend's. I can't believe that I never thought her heart might be inside you!" He physically slapped himself upside the head. "Well, her body is completely unharmed, meaning that her heart was perfectly able to reside inside her. That is why she is now alive."

"But why is she…like this?" cried Sora, gesturing wildly at the unresponsive girl, who continued to gaze emotionlessly at the scene.

"I was getting to that," explained Ajedel. He spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully, trying not to hurt Sora any more than necessary. "Her heart is inside her body, yes, but her soul is not. That Shadow still has that. Without her soul, she has no personality whatsoever. I am sorry to say that she has no idea who you are."

It was too much for Sora. "Then it's no use," he sobbed, pounding his fist repeatedly into the wall so hard that it shook the entire room. "There's nothing we can do, is there? All this time I've been hoping has been for nothing. That Shadow has Kairi's soul, and it's not going to give it back!"

Donald and Goofy stood at a distance, silently watching Sora's grief. Even though neither of them knew Kairi very well, seeing Sora like this caused Goofy to turn his head and sniffle a little himself. Even Donald was deeply moved. "Aw, come on, Sora," he said comfortingly. "I'm sure it will all work out well."

"No, it won't!" shouted Sora fiercely, accentuating each word with a pounding strike of his fist on the wood. "She's lost, and there's nothing we can do to get her soul back. Right, Ajedel?" He mentally prepared himself for the crushing 'no' that was sure to follow.

Ajedel, however, said nothing. His eyes shone with far more hope than anyone else in the room had. He knew very well what it was like to lose a loved one, and he could see plainly that Sora was as close to this girl as he himself had been to the Kairi he had lost years ago. The only difference was that, in his eyes, Sora's position was far from hopeless. "Actually, you're wrong," he said, causing to sharply cast his gaze toward him. "I know, I told you that it would be nearly impossible to resurrect her. But the hard part is already done; her heart is safely back inside her body. Now we need to find that Shadow again. If it ever comes into this castle again, I have the means to capture it…and then, while it is helpless, I may actually be able to retrieve the soul that it holds captive."

Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Really?" he said, drying his eyes. "Can you really do that? Would you do it for me?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Ajedel. "I owe a lot to you, Sora. You have kept me wonderful company these past weeks, and with your help, I have made enormous progress in my research. The least I can do in return is help revive your friend from the dead!" He laughed heartily. "It's not something I do every day, anyway. I'm quite excited about it myself!"

"Thanks," said Sora, rubbing his eyes again. In truth, he didn't know exactly what to say. Words could not describe the incredible gratitude he felt toward the scientist. Ajedel, had earned great respect in Sora's heart, and there were few people whose word he trusted more than his. If Ajedel said that Kairi's soul could be rescued…then Kairi's soul could be rescued. For the past year, Sora had moped around the castle, spending his type wishing and hoping that Kairi could somehow come back. Now, however, it was different. After that one, simple promise from Ajedel, Sora no longer wished that it would happened…he believed it. For the first time since Kairi's death, Sora took heart in the fact that she would actually return. He felt his resolve strengthening with each passing moment as he rose boldly to his feet. "Thanks a whole lot," he repeated. A grin even began to spread across his face. "I really can't tell you how thankful I am for this."

Donald and Goofy quickly bumbled toward Sora and Ajedel. "If you ever need help with anything at all, just ask us!" proclaimed Goofy proudly. "We want to help get Kairi back, too!" Donald heartily nodded his agreement.

Sora smiled broadly at them. "Thanks a lot to you as well!" It was just like the days before the fall of Organization XIII; he, Donald, and Goofy were all united and together again.

The four of them stood together silently for a few moments, reveling in the wonderful bond they had just successfully created between each other. For Sora, this was the first time he felt he could really call Ajedel his friend. "Well, it's late," said Donald eventually. He gestured toward the open door at the darkening sky outside. I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. Goodnight!" He waddled out the door and was gone.

Goofy nodded his head. "G'night!" he called cheerfully as he left the room.

Sora now turned to Kairi, who was still sitting upright on the bed. He locked eyes with her. "Kairi, we're going to bring you back. I know we will. The promise I made you all those years ago still stands…I'll never leave you like this." Sora didn't expect her to understand what he was saying, but he could have sworn he saw Kairi nod slightly.

"Well," said Ajedel, patting him kindly on the shoulder, "it's been a very long day. We both need to get some sleep. I'm going to…"

He was abruptly interrupted by Donald and Goofy, who came crashing back into the room, staff and shield in hand. "Heartless!" shouted Donald wildly. "They're everywhere! I haven't seen so many of those little things in years!"

"What?" cried Sora. He rushed out the door onto the balcony and stared into the courtyard, fifteen feet below. The fading light in the sky revealed that the entire place was completely thick with Heartless, milling around in the garden, staring at the group on the balcony with their pale yellow eyes.

"I'll go fetch the cadmium accelerators!" yelled Ajedel, as he dashed down the corridor toward the library.

"Alright," commanded Goofy, the familiar light of battle burning in his eyes. "Sora, you stay up here. Donald, you stand here on the balcony and kill as many as you can. I'll go down the stairs and…Sora, look out!"

Sora spun around to see a single Heartless flying through the air directly at him. It was positively massive, at least ten times the size as a normal Heartless. It had scaled the balcony while Sora, Donald, and Goofy were distracted, and was now intent on tearing Sora to shreds. Sora instinctively threw up his hand to block his face, although this effort was obviously pointless.

Whack. There was a sickening thud of flesh striking metal as the Heartless fell to the ground in two halves and melted away into the air. There, held tightly in Sora's outstretched hand, was his keyblade.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Goofy, staring at Sora in astonishment. "You got it back, Sora! How did you do it?" Sora did not reply, his gaze also fixated on the keyblade. He slowly waved it back and forth; it sliced through the air perfectly, as if he had never stopped using it. He had no idea why it had decided to come back to him at this moment, but it didn't matter. Looking at his old weapon, feeling it in his hand, he felt more powerful and bold than he had felt in a very, very, long time.

But there was no time to ponder this at the moment; the rest of the Heartless were beginning to snake their way up the columns to where the three friends were standing. Sora glanced at Donald and Goofy, power and adrenaline rushing through his veins, a gigantic grin plastered on his face. "Just like the old days, huh?" Before either of them could open their mouths to respond, he had vaulted the railing and plummeted fifteen feet, down into the waiting sea of Heartless.


	16. Chapter 16

Sora was deafened by the sound of Heartless scuttling about the ground all around him as he landed in the courtyard. The vile creatures were immediately on top of him, throwing themselves at his unprepared body from every direction, tearing at his clothes with their sharp claws. Caught completely off guard and overcome with confusion, he lashed out blindly at his adversaries with his keyblade. A year of almost no physical activity, save for his occasional sparring lessons with Riku, had taken its toll on Sora. He was much weaker than he had been a couple of years ago, and his reflexes had suffered as well. He could barely keep the Heartless off him as he madly struck anything that moved around him. His mind was overwhelmed with fear, and he now feverishly wished he hadn't jumped straight into the fray like this.

Slowly, however, his old fighting skill returned to him. The familiar warm feel of the keyblade in his hand, and the sight of Heartless vaporizing into smoke before the blade's deadly slice, brought his confidence back. He even grinned slightly as he weaved his keyblade back and forth through the mass of blackness before him as his fear was replaced by the familiar intense excitement. Suddenly, he realized that the Heartless were no longer getting anywhere near him; his keyblade kept them all at bay. Some of them actually began to back away from him. His confidence now back at its fullest, Sora dove directly into their midst, hacking and slicing at them like a swarm of gnats. Now, when his life was in jeopardy every moment, he felt better than he had in a long time.

Looking up, he saw that he had ventured within a few feet of Goofy. His faithful friend was as skilled as ever, bashing Heartless left and right with his shield, or pitching them high into the air to land on top of their hapless comrades. "You okay, Sora?" he asked concernedly as he spun around in a full circle, taking out nearly a dozen Heartless in one devastating blow.

Sora laughed as he cleaved an airborne Heartless in half. "Never better!" he said cheerfully, delving back into the black armies on every side. He didn't know how many of them were left, but he didn't care. He was savoring this moment dearly.

Suddenly, the soft hisses of the Heartless and the clink of Sora's keyblade were washed out by an earsplitting screech that caused Sora to lose his balance and stumble backward. He listened to the terrible noise in horror. He had only heard that scream once before, but he identified it quickly. It was the Shadow detector, which Ajedel had left on his bedside table earlier that day. There was a Shadow somewhere in the castle. Sora instantly thought of Kairi, sitting on the bed in her zombie-like state, and realized what the Shadow was after.

Fueled by a sickening fear that jolted his heart into his mouth, Sora sprinted toward the staircase. He didn't even bother using his Keyblade on the Heartless in his path; he just trampled them or kicked them out of the way. The battle had worn him out quite a bit, but not amount of fatigue could have stopped him from putting every ounce of energy he had into his dash. His mind was clouded by an overhanging dread that grew worse with each step. 'I'm such an idiot! Ajedel warned me about this. I should never have left her alone, not for one second…'

He cleared the stairs in four great leaps, taking them six steps at a time, and continued sprinting along the carpeted balcony. On the way, he passed Donald, shooting giant balls of ice and fire at the Heartless below. "What is that infernal racket?" he screamed. Sora ignored him; there was no time to answer. The only thoughts in his mind were of Kairi. He had to keep her safe, had to keep Xehanort from possessing her again. In reality, there was a lot more at stake than that. If Xehanort got to her before Sora did, he would rise to power again…only this time as a keyblade master.

Just as Sora rounded the final corner and caught sight of his bedroom's open door, the incessant screech of the Shadow detector was abruptly silenced. He had no idea why this could have happened, but it filled him with an even greater sense of dread. He summoned all the strength his tired legs could muster and sprinted the final stretch more quickly than he had at any other time in his life.

He reached his bedroom and skidded to a halt in the doorway, scanning the room wildly, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The Shadow detector lay on the floor…what was left of it, anyway. It had been reduced to small pile of metal shards and twisted wires by some explosive force. And there, floating in the air above it, was a female figure. It was the same figure that he had seen floating above the Heartless when he had first met Ajedel. She was as black as a Heartless, as wispy and smoky as a Shadow, and looked exactly like Kairi. She eyed the broken detector on the ground with a sort of satisfaction, then turned to the real Kairi. Kairi was sitting on the bed in the exact same position that Sora had left her, gazing blankly at the Shadow as it slowly floated toward her.

"No!" screamed Sora. He leapt toward the Shadow with all his might, his keyblade poised to strike, though he didn't know what good it would do against an ethereal creature like this.

Surprisingly, however, the Shadow hissed at him and flew backwards hastily. It actually seemed to be afraid of his keyblade. Taking heart, Sora positioned himself in between the smoky creature and the bed. With some luck, he might be able to hold the Shadow off, but he wasn't sure what else he could do. Even if his keyblade could somehow hurt it, it held Kairi's soul…

The Shadow seemed to notice his hesitation, and flew over his head with lightning speed, plummeting toward Kairi's body. Sora started and thrust his keyblade over Kairi's head as the Shadow came down. It instantly averted its fall and flew back to the ceiling, staring at Sora coldly. "Give her soul back!" he shouted. "It's not yours, and there's no way I'm letting you take Kairi!" The Shadow wailed softly and began circling him like vulture. Sora stared at it intently and brandished his keyblade, knowing that it could strike at any moment.

At that moment, a voice exploded loudly through his mind. _Take my keyblade, Sora! If you stab me in the heart with my own keyblade, I'll be free!_

"What?" cried Sora aloud, looking around the room for the source of the voice. "Who was that?"

He glanced at Kairi, and realized with a pang that she was no longer sitting on the bed. She was now standing next to it, staring at the Shadow hovering above her. And in her hand, she held a keyblade. It was beautiful, ornately decorated with a variety of multicolored flowers. "What?!" shouted Sora again. It was hard enough to believe that Kairi actually had a keyblade, despite what Xehanort had told him in his dream earlier that day. But how could she summon it now, when she was practically a zombie?

_Do it now! _The voice in Sora's head was talking again. It didn't seem to come from anywhere in the room. _Do it now, or it might be too late!_

The Shadow was also frozen to the spot, staring at the keyblade in astonishment in rage. Sora hadn't been this confused in years, but he felt he could trust the strange voice. He grabbed the colorful keyblade from Kairi's hand, vaulted into the air, and stabbed the Shadow through the chest.

With a terrible, heart-wrenching moan, the cloud of black smoke in Kairi's form vaporized and dissolved into the air. All that remained what a shapeless blob of darkness, which hissed as it flew through the open door and out of sight.

The keyblade vanished from Sora's grip and reappeared in Kairi's hand as she fell back onto the bed. "Kairi!" Sora rushed to her side, catching her before she slumped to the floor. His heart raced as he lowered gently into a lying position, waiting for something…anything…to happen.

Kairi's eyelids fluttered open, revealing the two radiant pools of blue beneath. "Hey, Sora," she mumbled. "What, is it morning already?"

Sora stood over her in complete shock. He wanted to say a thousand different things in that moment, but he couldn't force any words out of his mouth.

"Nah, it can't be morning, I'm exhausted," continued Kairi, rolling over in the bed. "I'm going to back to sleep…" Her eyes suddenly widened as she sat up and looked around the room sharply. "Hey, this isn't our room! Where are we? And where's Riku?" She stared at Sora, expecting answers.

Sora, however, was still incapable of speech. Was this real? After all these months, after being disappointed so many times…was Kairi really back again? It seemed impossible, almost surreal, and yet…here she was, talking with him. "Kairi?" he eventually squeaked. "Is that actually you?"

Kairi backed away nervously. "Sora, you're starting to scare me…what's going on here?"

So she had no idea what had happened to her. Sora gulped heavily, trying to hold back his tears, but his efforts were in vain. His eyes watered up, and soon tears of sheer joy were streaming down his face. "I just…I just can't believe…that you…" He suddenly fell to sobbing as he fell to his knees from a mixture of fatigue and overwhelming happiness. This was it, this was the real thing, Kairi was alive…Unable to control himself, Sora threw his arms around Kairi and held her there tightly, crying silently.

Alarmed, Kairi jolted a little as Sora embraced her. But she quickly calmed herself. She had no idea what was going on, or where she was, but she could clearly see that something was wrong with Sora. "There now, it's okay," she said concernedly, patting Sora lightly on the back. "What's wrong? You're acting like you haven't seen me in a year!"

Sora chuckled as he released and stood up slowly. "Oh, nothing, nothing…" He rubbed the tears out of his eyes, collecting himself as much as he could. "I'm so sorry, Kairi. It's just that, you see…"

"Hello, Sora," came a voice from the doorway. Ajedel stood in the doorway, staring at the two of them coldly.

"Ajedel!" cried Sora in glee. The words now tumbled out of his mouth like an avalanche. "I can't thank you enough, Ajedel! You were right! Look, she's back! If you hadn't been here, none of this would have happened, and I definitely couldn't have gotten my keyblade back, or…" He instantly ducked as a large rock hurtled over his head and crashed into the wall behind him.

Standing up, Sora now looked at Ajedel in a completely different light. "What? Did you just throw that at me? What were you thinking?" He suddenly noticed that there was something strange about the scientist. His face had changed and seemed to be somewhat narrower, almost in a sinister way. Especially his eyes…which were a snakelike green.

"Xehanort!" Sora snarled, summoning his keyblade and stepping toward the possessed scientist. "Let go of Ajedel back, now! What do you want with him? He's not a keyblade master!"

Instead of answering, Ajedel laughed and ran out the door. Sora dashed after him, following him down the corridor. Ajedel was a slow runner; normally, Sora should have had no problem catching up with him, but his long sprint from the courtyard had left him completely worn out. He couldn't manage much more than a jog.

Ajedel led Sora along the balcony for a few minutes, before opening a certain door and slipping inside. Before Sora could reach the door, he reappeared in the hallway, holding by the arm…Naminé. "Stop there, or she dies!" he commanded.

Sora hissed angrily and stopped in his tracks, unsure of what else to do. Naminé looked absolutely terrified, glancing back and forth between Sora and Ajedel with wide eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" yelled Sora. "Let go of her!"

Ajedel laughed as he extended his free hand behind him, conjuring a dark portal in the air. "You're right," he chuckled as he stepped backward into the portal. "This scientist I'm holding isn't a keyblade master…but Kairi's Nobody is!"

With a pang of shock, Sora realized that he was right. "No!" he cried, dashing forward, hoping against hope that he could stop them. But it was too late…the portal closed and vanished, leaving Sora alone on the balcony. Ajedel and Naminé were gone.


End file.
